


That's Rough, Buddy

by buoyantsaturn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Internalized Homophobia, It gets better I promise, M/M, Physical Abuse, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, like super vaguely and nothing even happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-11-06 10:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11034429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: “Father doesn’t want me there any more than he wants you,” Nico said, eyes out at the open sea in front of them. “Let them look, I won’t go back.”An Avatar: the Last Airbender au featuring a runaway prince!





	1. Part One: Air; Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so!!! first of all  
> i love avatar the last airbender  
> second  
> there are a few things in here that i changed solely for the fact of angst (sorry) the first being that females/nonbenders are not allowed to be firelord and also that the fire nation has a very strict dress code (which may not actually be too far off?? idk seems pretty strict to me in canon) also a few other customs for different nations may have changed but i don't think they'll be that big of a deal  
> this is going to be a pretty decent sized fic with more than ten chapters (not sure how much exactly currently but theres an idea for you) but i may not update this for a while because im graduating high school this week!! im hoping for monday updates but that might change in the future, i'll hopefully let you know  
> i hope you enjoy!!!

This is how the Firelord saw it:

Bianca, his oldest daughter, was perfect in almost every way. She was beautiful and intelligent, an excellent fighter in hand-to-hand combat. There were only two problems; first, while she was his eldest child, she was a girl, and would not be able to accept the throne. Second, she was a nonbender, and to the majority of the royal family, this made her appear as useless to the family. So while she was by far the favorite child to her father, she was a disgrace to her nation.

Nico, second born and an excellent bender, was the child the nation deserved. He had a superior mind for battle strategy, and was seen from a young age as the perfect successor for his father by those outside of the royal family. His father, on the other hand, could barely stand to look at him, would rather pass the throne on to a distant cousin than to his own son. Nico, his father often said, was responsible for the death of his own mother, who had died during childbirth. Outside of his home, Nico was a prodigy. Inside, he was a monster.

Hazel was treated as though she didn’t exist. She was the product of an affair between the Firelord and a woman living in the outer circle of Ba Sing Se. Hazel was forbidden from ever leaving the palace walls, forbidden from contacting anyone in the outside world, including her own mother, and wasn’t even informed of her mother’s death until weeks had passed. The Firelord - she had never referred to him as Father unless she was speaking directly to him - wanted to send her away quietly, so no one would ever have to know of his mistake, having an earthbending daughter out of an affair.

And that’s what he had planned to do: ship Hazel off to some remote earth kingdom village in hopes that her life could not be traced back to him.

Perhaps, he’d even said during a private conversation that Nico had had no part listening in on, he would even send her to a city currently under attack by the Fire Nation’s armies. There would be no way to connect the two of them, at that point.

Nico had always been light on his feet, which had allowed him to sneak into the throne room during that conversation, and gave him the same ability to flee without being heard. 

He ran straight to Hazel’s bedroom - the room that had been vacated when Bianca had chosen to train on Kyoshi Island instead of staying in the Fire Nation - and burst in without knocking.

“Father’s going to send you away,” he whispered, as if his father could hear him across the palace.

And that night, the two of them plotted away on the floor of Hazel’s room. They packed Hazel’s bags and Nico went out in the middle of the night to prepare a ship.

Hazel had thought she’d be expected to flee on her own, to safely find her way to new land outside of the Fire Nation without ever leaving the palace walls for as long as she could remember.

Instead, Nico had loaded twice as many bags as Hazel remembered packing into the ship, jumping aboard before setting sail.

“Nico,” Hazel had started, keeping her voice down to avoid any kind of echo from the mountains surrounding them, “you can’t leave! You’re the prince, they will come looking for you!”

“Father doesn’t want me there any more than he wants you,” Nico said, eyes out at the open sea in front of them. “Let them look, I won’t go back.”

 

They stopped at the first island outside of the Fire Nation, a small town of earthbenders that was more private residence than shops. Nico had given Hazel a handful of coins - more than enough for what she’d need - and stayed on the ship as she went to buy them a change of clothes and some extra food. While Nico had left his crown at the palace, they were still close enough to the Fire Nation for him to be recognized.

Hazel returned in a new outfit of greens and yellows with flowing skirts, and a few things in her arms, which she handed off to Nico when she boarded the ship. There wasn’t much; a black cloak that would cover the clothes he was wearing and a pair of black boots to replace to the house shoes he’d forgotten to change out of when he left the palace.

He changed his shoes and pulled on the cloak to help combat the wind, and unrolled a map for Hazel to see. “Anywhere we want to go,” Nico told her. “Pick a place, and we’ll go from there.”

 

They’d set sail in the direction of the Southern Air Temple. Nico had wanted to protest, knowing that there wouldn’t be anything for them there, no civilization in which for them to blend, but sailed in that direction anyway. They had enough food to last them a short while, they could spend some time to explore, show Hazel the world that she’d never gotten to see. 

The first big storm of their journey hit when they were about halfway to their destination. The winds were powerful, waves threatening to capsize them, so the two teens fled below deck, hoping to wait out the storm.

However, when the ship finally did flip, it stayed overturned, allowing for water to seep into the chambers below deck. Nico and Hazel barely had a chance to each grab a single bag before struggling out of the boat and into the open water. 

“Everything will be fine,” Nico shouted over the roaring wind, barely able to keep his head above the water. “We’ll be fine, Hazel.”

He wondered, for the first time, how long it would take his father’s men to stop looking for him. They really would never find him, now.

Nico felt something pulling at him, afraid that it was the currents pulling him down, and started thrashing, hoping it would keep him breathing a little longer, until he heard a voice shouting into his ear, “Calm down! I’m trying to help!”

He felt an arm wrap tightly around his waist, and suddenly, he was moving away from the boat, and away from the dark shape he could only guess on whether it was his sister or not.

Nico felt himself being dragged onto a sandy beach, and there were hands on his shoulders, trying to get him to focus. Before him was tan skin and dark hair and green eyes that seemed to glow despite the storm. 

“How many of you were out there?” the man in front of him demanded.

“Just me and my sister,” Nico told him. “Please, she’s still out there, you have to help her!”

The man stood, turning his back to Nico and raising his arms. The rain stopped, though the clouds and waves remained. Nico looked around him, eyes scanning the water until they locked on two figures swiftly approaching the land. It was Hazel, another girl pulling her along.

When the two reached the shore, the man turned back to Nico, pulling him to his feet. “Is that her? Your sister?”

Nico nodded. The icy chill of the water was beginning to seep into his bones, turning his limbs to cement and making Nico feel like he would collapse at any second. He tilted his head enough to see that Hazel was standing safe on the beach before he allowed his knees to give out from under him. He fell forward into the man that had saved him.

 

Nico was much warmer when he woke up. He looked to be in some kind of tent, lying on the ground under a blanket, cloak removed along with his overclothes and boots. He was left in a black cotton shirt and the pants he normally wore to sleep in (which is what he’d been planning to do when the storm had hit).

There didn’t seem to be anything else in the tent, and seeing as Nico didn’t know where he was, he felt uncomfortable leaving the space in so little clothes. 

He poked his head out of the opening in his tent, momentarily blinded by the brightness of the sun, and glanced around. He was hoping to find Hazel, or maybe the bag he’d managed to salvage, his cloak even, but instead he was greeted with the sight of a great amount of strangers. He spotted the man that had pulled him out of the water the night before, wearing an incredibly obvious water tribe outfit - Southern tribe, if Nico remembered correctly - of tight-fitting pants and a loose wrap as a shirt.

Nico pulled his head back into the tent when the man looked in his direction. He grabbed the blanket, wrapping it around his shoulders and covering himself as best he could before the flap of the tent opened.

“Get out!” Nico squeaked (very un-price-like, his mind scolded him), pulling the blanket tighter.

“Whoa, calm down, man,” the waterbender with the bright green eyes said with a laugh. “I saved your life and I can’t even get a ‘hello’? I’m Percy, by the way.”

Nico fought the urge to push himself back, away from him.

“This is where you say your name.”

“Nico,” he said, and that seemed to open the floodgates. “Where am I? Where’s my sister? And my clothes?”

“Dude, chill out, it’s not like you’re naked under there,” Percy said, holding his hands up placatingly. 

“It’s improper,” Nico muttered, curling in on himself.

“Improper?” Percy joked. “What’re you, royalty?”

“No!” Nico shouted, probably a little too quickly. “No, I’m not-- Just tell me where I am.”

Percy reached out, ripping the blanket away and pulling Nico to his feet. “Come with me and find out.”

Nico squaked indignantly as he was dragged outside, getting a full view of the island around them. There was a boy to Nico’s left, built like an ox, bending an entire building out of the ground. To Nico’s right, a girl - the one that pulled Hazel out of the water, if Nico remembered correctly - was watering a garden. Directly ahead of him, there was a boy that looked as if he’d rolled around in the dirt for a full day, and he was holding something in his hands which suddenly burst into flames. He threw the flaming ball of whatever-it-was straight up into the air, where a blond boy on a glider was flying overhead, who shouted, “Hey, watch it!”

Percy let go of Nico’s wrist, stepping out in front of him with his arms spread. “Welcome to the island of misfit benders! Or, well, the actual name is Ogygia, but whatever.” Percy threw an arm over Nico’s shoulders and started leading him around. Nico tried to duck out from under the arm, but Percy seemed pretty strong. He hoped his face wasn’t bright red. 

“So, your sister - Hazel, right? - she’s already met everybody, but over there’s Frank.” Percy pointed to the ox-boy. “He’s an earthbender, obviously. Came from a small town outside the kingdom, found this place after his parents died.” He turned them so they were facing the girl at the garden. “There’s Piper, waterbender, her dad’s off fighting the war, but don’t talk to her about it. She hasn’t gotten any news about him since she came here, so she’s kinda freaked out about it. 

“That guy up there is Jason,” Percy said, gesturing up to the boy on the glider. “Him and Calypso are, like, the only airbenders in the whole world, or something, so I’m kinda hoping that when the Avatar starts their training, they come by here to learn airbending, ‘cause really, where else are they gonna learn?”

“Anyway, then there’s Leo over there.” He nodded to the boy covered in dirt, which, Nico realized, might’ve actually been soot. “He’s the only firebender on the island, and never really got any proper training, so watch out for him. He’s not really a fan of sharing his life story, but there’s something about his mom dying in the Fire Nation army, or the army killed her, or something, so he ran away and came here.”

Suddenly, Percy was turning on him, hands on his shoulder, wide smile on his lips that made Nico’s face heat up even more. “So what about you and Hazel? What’s your story?”

“Um, I--” Nico glanced to the side. “It’s a--”

“Long story, right?” Percy cut in. “Yeah, I kinda figured that since you and Hazel don’t really look alike, you’re probably from a refugee camp, right? That’s rough, man.”

“Yeah,” Nico croaked, then cleared his throat. “Yes, we’re refugees. O-our town was... raided by the Fire Nation, a-and our parents were killed.”

“That really sucks,” Percy told him, and then he moved again, arm slung around Nico’s shoulders once more, and then they were walking. “Let’s go find your sister.”


	2. Part One: Air; Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i totally forgot to update the hell au on saturday oops  
> anyway here's more of this instead

When Nico saw his sister, he almost shouted. The long dress she’d bought in that little earth kingdom town had been ripped up, the skirt now hanging just above her knees, and the top had been completely disconnected, showing a good portion of her midriff. 

Nico felt like  _ he _ was underdressed, but if anyone in the palace had seen Hazel dressed like this, she might’ve been beaten. Royalty did not dress like either of them were now. 

“Nico, this place is amazing!” Hazel had cried when she’d seen him, hugging him tightly. “I feel so free! I can practice my earthbending whenever I want, and Frank even offered to teach me a little bit!”

“That’s great, Hazel,” Nico said quietly, obviously not feeling the same. “But, um, don’t you-- Aren’t you uncomfortable being dressed like that?”

“Not at all!” Hazel stepped back, twirling around. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am right now.” She looked back to her brother, discomfort written clearly on his face. “Are you not-- Do you not like it here?”

“No, it’s-- I--” Nico wrapped his arms around his stomach, eyes darting from side to side. “I feel exposed. I’ve never been in public in so little clothes before.”

“We can fix that,” Hazel told him gently, pulling one of his arms away from himself. “C’mon, we hung everything up to dry last night.”

 

Nico felt much better once he’d changed. Gone were the red sleep pants and the black shirt. Instead, he wore a grey long-sleeved shirt, a black vest with golden piping, and black tight-fitting pants that fit easily into his boots. They were the least royal-like clothes he could find, and he felt covered and comfortable.

“Finally,” Hazel exclaimed when Nico exited his tent. “I want to show you some new earthbending moves I learned!”

She dragged Nico to the edge of a clearing in the woods. “Stay right here,” she said, and then jogged a little ways away. “Watch this!” Hazel stomped a foot on the ground, and a boulder about the same size as Hazel herself rose out of the earth and hovered for a moment, until she kicked it away. The boulder flew out into the ocean, splashing about a hundred feet offshore. 

“That’s great, Hazel,” Nico told her, though his attention was drawn away when he noticed Percy walking in their direction. He didn’t understand why he was so distracted by seeing the waterbender, and he also wasn’t sure why he felt like something was constricting his chest when he saw Percy holding hands with a blonde girl.

“Hey, Hazel,” Percy shouted, waving a hand in their direction. “Nice shooting! What d’you got, Nico?”

He felt his face heating up again - why did it keep doing that? - and glanced in Hazel’s direction. She ran towards him, laying a calming hand on his arm. “It’ll be fine, Nico. You met Leo, right? They’re not gonna hate you because of what you can do.”

Nico nodded to her, stepping towards the middle of the clearing. He snapped his fingers, igniting a small flame above his fist, and bringing it to his mouth. He tilted his head toward the sky, blowing at the flames until the fire shot ten feet into the air.

“A firebender!” the blonde girl exclaimed. 

“Not bad!” Percy shouted with a laugh. “Maybe you can teach Leo a thing or two!”

The flames curled into the air, quickly dying out, leaving Nico standing awkwardly. 

“Got anything else you can show us?” Percy asked, pulling the blonde girl further into the clearing.

Nico frowned, turning away and taking a deep breath. He raised his hands, palms out, and spun until he was surrounded in a ring a fire. He shut his eyes when he heard cheering, trying to keep his frustration at bay, but froze when he heard a scream. 

His eyes opened, and Percy was shouting, and Nico didn’t understand until he turned around. The blonde girl was on the ground, hands held close to her body, and Nico could see burn marks on them.

“Someone contact the healer,” Percy shouted in the direction of the tents and structures. He turned back to the blonde girl, kneeling down next to her. “Annabeth, are you okay? We’ll get help soon, it’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry,” Nico said, stepping in their direction.

“Stop!” Percy cried. “Don’t come any closer.”

“I just want to help, I’m sorry!” Nico held his hands out in surrender, but Percy still seemed threatened. 

Percy jumped to his feet and summoned a wave out of the ocean next to the clearing, bending it to hit Nico’s stomach full-force. He was thrown back into the trunk of a tree, head smacking against the bark.

His vision was still swimming when Percy picked Annabeth up and carried her away, but it was mostly clear when Hazel knelt down at his side. 

“Nico, are you okay?” she asked. “I can’t believe you  _ did _ that!”

“I don’t--” Nico winced, bringing a hand up to the back of his head.  _ "Shit." _

“Don’t move too much,” Hazel ordered. “I heard Percy call for a healer, maybe when they get here they can check you out, okay?”

Nico nodded, and regretted it immediately. “Oh, god, I think I’m gonna throw up,” he said, and had just enough time to turn to the side before he vomited into the grass.

“Just hang on, Nico,” Hazel said gently, running her fingers through her brother’s hair.

 

It was maybe two hours that they sat there before someone else came into the clearing, a blond man in water tribe clothes, and Nico groaned.

“Is that one of Percy’s friends, here to kill me?” he asked quietly, and Hazel laughed as she elbowed him.

“I was told there might be a dying firebender over here?” the blond man called across the clearing.

“That’s me,” Nico mumbled, and didn’t think his voice would carry so far, but he heard the man laugh.

The man knelt down directly in front of Nico, a lot closer than Nico would’ve prefered, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to complain.

“You’re not gonna leave me to suffer because I’m a firebender, are you?” Nico asked, squinting at the man. For some reason, the sun seemed too bright and everything was fuzzy.

“Nah, you’re not the one shipping armies all across the planet, are you?” The man grinned, but Nico looked away. “I’m Will, by the way.” He pulled a bag off his shoulder and startled rustling around. “This is where you say your name, by the way.”

“Nico,” he said.

“Do you have a last name, Nico?”

“I do.”

The two simply watched each other for a moment, until Hazel broke the silence. “Um, I’m Hazel,” she said. “Nico hit his head pretty bad, and he’s acting a little weird.” Nico glared at her. “Can you fix him?”

“Yeah, I think I can,” Will said. “Y’know what, Hazel? Head injuries usually take a little bit longer to fix, and this is gonna be pretty boring. You don’t have to hang around, if you don’t want to.”

Hazel covered one of Nico’s hands with her own. “Are you gonna be alright, Nico?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” Nico told her, eyes closing.

“He’s in good hands, Hazel,” Will told her, before he snapped in front of Nico’s nose. “Hey, I’m gonna need you to keep your eyes open.”

Nico’s eyes slid open, and he watched as Hazel walked away. His eyes snapped back to Will’s. “How exactly does this work?”

“Well,” Will started, pulling a small canteen from his bag, and Nico noticed that his arms were wrapped from elbow to wrist, “it’s really just fancy waterbending.”

“Fancy waterbending?” Nico repeated, finally cracking a smile.

“C’mon, I’m sure you know your fair share of fancy firebending,” Will said. He opened the canteen, drawing it out with his fingers and tossing a small ball of water back and forth. “What are your symptoms? Are you dizzy? Blurry vision? Light sensitivity?”

“Yes, all of that,” he said. 

He watched Will encase his fingers with the water, and then the hands moved out of his line of sight, and cold fingers pressed gently against his temples. Nico saw Will’s eyes close as he started to focus, and then the pain in the back of his head turned searing.

“Shh,” Will whispered. “Just relax.”

In no time at all, the pain eased, and Nico opened his eyes. Will was watching him expectantly, wide blue eyes flicking between Nico’s. 

“Good?” Will asked quietly. 

Nico hadn’t realized how much closer Will had come during the healing process. They were practically nose to nose, and Nico could count the freckles on Will’s cheeks and nose. Will’s eyes were incredibly clear, blue like the sky, or the ocean, and Nico could almost see calming waves in his irises.

“Yeah,” Nico breathed. “I’m good.”

“Think you can stand?” Will asked, hands sliding down to rest on Nico’s forearms. Nico nodded, and Will’s hands dropped to his wrists, pulling Nico to stand with him. “I heard you got thrown into a tree.”

“Yes, I was,” Nico said, tilting his head in confusion.

“Would you mind taking your shirt off for me?” Will asked. “So I can see if you’re injured anywhere else?”

Nico felt his face heating up, eyes darting to the side. “I-I would prefer not to.”

“That’s fine,” Will told him, squeezing his hands. “Would it be better if we weren’t out in the open?” Nico shrugged. Will reached down, grabbing the strap of his bag with one hand, and tugging on Nico’s with the other. “C’mon, I know a place that no one’ll walk in one us.”

 

Nico had tried not to blush at Will’s words, but understood what Will meant when he saw the small building at the edge of the ring of everyone else’s homes. There was an earthen hut, probably about twice the size as the tent Nico had woken up in that morning, with only a curtain for a doorway.

“You might be surprised,” Will started, “but I’m actually here a lot, so Frank built me a place to sleep.”

“You don’t live here?” Nico asked as Will held open the curtain for Nico to walk through. He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice when he asked. 

“Nah, I’ve been travelling around for a while,” Will told him, entering the shack behind him. “In the Northern water tribe, the men are all expected to learn to fight, whether they’re benders or not, and the women that can bend are taught healing. Well, I didn’t want to learn how to fight, so I had a friend teach me how to heal, and then I ran away. Now, I’m just kind of a travelling healer.”

“Oh,” Nico said.

“Now,” Will said, quickly changing the subject. “I did bring you here for a reason.”

Nico took a step back, arms crossing over his stomach, looking smaller than he was in seconds.

“How ‘bout this,” Will started, hands landing on Nico’s shoulders. “You tell me if anything hurts, and if it does, you let me heal it. Deal?”

Nico nodded, and took one of Will’s hands in his, pulling it down and pressing it into the small of his back with a wince. “There.”

“Okay,” Will said, reaching into his bag with his free hand and flicking open the canteen inside. He lifted the water until it coated his hand, and used his other hand to lift the back of Nico’s shirt. “Good?” he asked, and when Nico nodded, Will pressed his hand to the bare skin of Nico’s back, causing the firebender the flinch at the contact.

This time, the healing only stung for a second - a much more bearable pain than the last time - and it ended with both of Will’s arms wrapped around Nico. 

“Um,” Will mumbled. “Anything else?”

Nico bit his lip, shaking his head as he looked up at Will. (Sitting down, he hadn’t realized how much taller Will was.)

“Okay!” Will said, probably louder than necessary, and pulled his hands away. “Well, um, I think I saw everyone getting dinner together out there, so, uh, we should probably...” He threw a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the curtain-door.

“Yeah, we should.”

Will stepped out of the way, gesturing for Nico to walk ahead of him.

Nico left the hut, head dipped to try and hide his flaming cheeks, and rushed towards a campfire where Hazel was sitting with Frank. He sat down next to his sister, pulling his knees up to wrap his arms around them.

“Is something wrong, Nico?” Hazel asked, leaning closer to her brother. “Your face looks a little red.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Nico muttered, glancing in the direction of Will’s hut.

“Ah, somebody’s got a crush, huh?” Hazel said, and Nico’s head snapped toward her. “You sure got over Percy really quick.”

“What!” Nico shouted, but quieted himself before speaking again. “I do not-- I’m not--” Nico took a breath. “I’m a boy. I don’t like boys.”

Hazel put a hand on his arm. “Nico, do you remember when you met Bianca’s first boyfriend? You talked about him more than she did.”

“So?”

“So you like boys,” she told him. “And that’s fine, Nico, really. It doesn’t matter to me, and it’s not like there’s anyone around to stop you.”

Nico stared into the fire. “Thanks, Hazel,” he muttered. 

“Oh, and, Nico?” she said, leaning even closer. “Your shirt’s riding up in the back.” Hazel reached over, pulling the fabric down as Nico squaked. “It’s fun being away from home, isn’t it?”

“We didn’t do anything!” Nico nearly shouted, hands flying back to make sure his shirt had been pulled down all the way. 

“Uh, huh, sure,” Hazel laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome will!! i hope you guys liked it!! thanks for reading!!!


	3. Part One: Air; Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i almost completely forgot about this update bc ive been so out of it this past week due to summer camp no internet or time to do anything except strictly scheduled activities really gets to u ok anyway here it is i hope you enjoy!!

After dinner, once the sun had gone down, everyone was gathered around the fire, singing an assortment of songs Nico had never heard, loudly, and most likely off-key. 

“Does this normally happen?” Nico asked, leaning towards Will to assure that only he heard. 

“The singing?” Will asked. “Every night that I’m here, yeah. Haven’t you ever been to a bonfire before?”

Nico paused. “Not... exactly.”

Will hummed. He got to his feet, brushing the dirt off his pants before offering a hand to Nico. “Come with me,” he said when Nico looked at the hand questioningly. 

“Where?” Nico asked skeptically, but he accepted the hand.

Will didn’t let go once he was standing, instead started dragging Nico in the direction of the clearing they were in before. “I’ve heard that you’re quite the powerful firebender, but I haven’t gotten a chance to see anything for myself.”

Nico let himself be pulled along, allowing himself to stay close to Will when he stopped them. They sat together on the ground in the center of the clearing, Nico with his legs crossed and Will with his knees hooked over Nico’s, bracketing him in while also making sure they were close enough to see each other in the dark. 

“Well?” Will asked, and Nico could see the reflection of the moon in his eyes. Nico snapped his fingers, and a small flame appeared over his fist, just like it had before. “I was expecting something a little more impressive.”

“I normally don’t do  _ impressive _ with people this close,” Nico told him, breath fanning the flame in his hand.

“Just do your best not to light me on fire,” Will joked. “But, of course, worst case, my healing works on myself, too.”

Nico smiled softly, bringing the flame away from Will and pointing his hand straight to his right. He took a breath, and blew at the flame. Instead of the flame exploding outward, the fire extinguished in Nico’s hand.

Will rested his hands on Nico’s ankles, leaning closer. “Am I making you nervous?” Will asked, and Nico could see his smile. He was glad for his snuffed light now, so that Will couldn’t see his blush.

“Of course not,” Nico muttered. He cupped his hands around his mouth, puffing out a breath that blew embers through the cracks between his fingers. “Let me try again.”

He snapped his fingers again, tried to blow the flame into a roaring fire, but the light died again.

“I don’t understand,” Nico said, blowing on his fingers. “It’s cold. Very cold, like ice.”

“Ice?” Will said, confused. “Pretty sure that’s not compatible with fire.”

“No, it’s not,” Nico said. If Will’s legs weren’t bracketing him in, he might’ve tried to move away. He stared down at his hands, an expression close to fear in his eyes.

Will covered Nico’s hands with his own. “Hey, I wanna try something, okay?” Nico nodded, and Will pulled one of his hands away, flicking his wrist in the direction of the ocean behind Nico. A small ball of water hovered over Will’s hand. “Try on this.”

Nico glanced between Will and the ball of water hesitantly, but blew on the water, slowly solidifying it until a ball of ice fell into Will’s hand. Will placed the ball in Nico’s hand, who immediately dropped the ice, shocked by the sudden cold. 

“I don’t understand,” Nico whispered.

“I think I do,” Will told him, collecting Nico’s free hand. “How old are you, Nico?”

“I just turned sixteen,” Nico answered. “Why, what does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re aware of the Avatar cycle, right? That the current Avatar would’ve been reborn into the Fire Nation.” Will tightened his grip on Nico’s hands. “Were you ever tested for the possibility of being the Avatar?”

“N-no, I don’t think so,” Nico told him. “But I  _ can’t _ be, I, I’m--” He took a breath, stopping himself from revealing his identity. “I’m not the Avatar. I’m not  _ anybody." _

“Maybe you weren’t,” Will told him, “but you are  _ now." _

“I can’t--” Nico looked down at their connected hands, before snapping his head back up to Will’s. “Can you not tell anyone?”

“Of course,” Will said, “but can I ask why?”

“Percy said,” Nico started, glancing away, “that they were all waiting for the Avatar to show up here to be trained, but I don’t--” He took a breath, meeting Will’s eyes in the dark. “I don’t think I want to stay here.”

“You’re not even going to tell Hazel?” Will asked. Nico shook his head. “It seems to me that she wouldn’t be too happy about being forced to leave this place.”

“I wouldn’t make her leave. If she wanted to stay, I would leave alone,” Nico said honestly. “She’s had enough of people telling her what to do.”

Will turned Nico’s hands over in his own, rubbing his thumbs along their backs. He tilted his head, humming for a second before he asked, “Would you maybe want to come with me?”

“You ask that question a lot, you know,” Nico told him, “and I never quite know where you mean.”

Will smiled, ducking his head. “Right, sorry. I meant, uh, when I leave Ogygia tomorrow.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Nico asked, feeling as though the ball of ice had just been thrown into his stomach. 

“I can’t be a travelling healer if I don’t travel,” Will joked. “But I usually come back here pretty often. Once every couple of weeks, at least, and I never go too far.”

Nico waited a moment before he spoke. “I want to,” he said. “I really do, but I need to talk to Hazel, first. We’ve never been apart, and I don’t want her to feel like she’s been abandoned.”

“Of course,” Will told him, squeezing his hands. “I won’t be leaving until a few hours after sun up, so you have plenty of time to think about it.”

Nico glanced in the direction of the campfire. “Should we go back there, now?”

“Well, I came for an amazing firebending display, and have not yet been impressed,” Will answered, jokingly.

Nico grinned. “Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get plenty of chances to see some of my firebending.”

 

Hazel had been perfectly fine with the idea of Nico leaving with Will (maybe a little  _ too _ okay with it, a small part of Nico’s mind thought), and was even happier when she heard that they would most likely be back within the next few weeks. She helped him pack his things before he went to sleep in his tiny tent, eagerly awaiting his departure the next morning.

Will seemed pretty happy about his decision, too, when Nico found him in the morning and told him that he was all packed up and ready to leave. They departed after Nico had given his sister a hug goodbye, and Will waved to everyone from his boat. 

The boat was nowhere near as impressive as the ship Nico and Hazel had ridden to the island. Their ship had been metal and coal-powered. Will’s boat was wooden and driven by a single torn sail, though Will claimed to waterbend it in the right direction, most of the time.

Once they were far enough out on the water that there was no visible land from any side of the boat, Nico had laid down on his back, using his bag as a pillow.

“I wanted to ask you something that I don’t know if you’ll know the answer to,” Nico said, intentionally keeping his eyes directed at the clouds overhead and not looking around for Will.

“And what’s that?” Will asked from somewhere in the direction of Nico’s feet.

“The blonde girl that Percy hangs around?” Nico started, and Will supplied,  _ Annabeth. _  “Yes, Annabeth. I noticed her wearing a necklace that looked to be water tribe, but she’s not water tribe, is she?”

“Nah, Annabeth’s from the earth kingdom. Her parents were these huge scholars in the inner ring of the city, so she’s super smart, but Percy came through her town when he was travelling, a while back, and she went with him,” Will answered. “Percy made that necklace for her, it’s a water tribe tradition. It’s a betrothal necklace.”

“Oh,” Nico said, understanding now just why Percy was so upset when he’d accidentally hurt Annabeth, and why the two of them always seemed to be together. “So they’re getting married.”

“Honestly, I don’t get why they haven’t yet,” Will said. “I don’t know how it works in the Southern tribe, but in the North, you’re betrothed at fourteen and married once you and your fiance are both sixteen. I think Percy and Annabeth are almost in their twenties. Maybe things are a lot different in the earth kingdom.”

Nico had sat up halfway through Will’s thought. “But you’re not married,” he demanded. “Are you?”

“No,” Will said with a laugh, and Nico let himself breathe. “I was engaged, but I ran off before the girl I was supposed to marry turned sixteen. I haven’t been back to the tribe, but I don’t really think they’d want me there anymore.”

“I know how you feel,” Nico mumbled.

“What about you?” Will asked, and Nico tilted his head in confusion. “What’re your marriage customs?”

“Oh, um.” Nico looked out over the water. “I would be expected to marry quickly and have children, at least one firebending son, but there’s not really any kind of age restrictions, I don’t think.”

“But you escaped the Fire Nation,” Will said. “So what would you do differently?”

“What would  _ you  _ do differently?” Nico shot back.

“I asked first,” Will laughed. “But okay. I would marry someone that I actually want to be with, not someone chosen for me, and I would keep travelling and healing people. Now you.”

“I don’t know,” Nico answered honestly. “I’ve never really been allowed to think about it, really. My life’s just always been so planned out for me. When Hazel and I left the Fire Nation, that was the first time we’d done something big without permission. I’ve always assumed that my father would choose someone for me to marry, and that would be the end of it.”

“Well, get ready to do a lot of things without permission,” Will told him. He started rustling around in his bag before moving to sit down next to Nico, leaving enough space between them to unroll a map. “Any place you wanna go.”

“Anywhere?” Nico asked, eyes wide. 

“Anywhere outside of the Fire Nation,” Will joked.

Nico pointed to an island on the map, barely even needing to look where his finger landed. “Kyoshi.”

Will beamed. “Good choice. It’s been a while since I’ve been there, it’ll be good to check in again.”

 

Kyoshi Island wasn’t far from Ogygia, so they reached the shore in a few hours. They docked the boat, and Nico was practically bouncing in anticipation.

“You’re awfully excited,” Will commented.

“You’ve gotta hurry up, because I don’t know the way,” Nico said.

“Yeah, okay,” Will gave in, and they started in the direction of the town. “You probably want to see the Warriors, right?”

“I do,” Nico told him as they marched up a hill. There was a building at the top with open windows, and through them, Nico could see the Kyoshi Warriors practicing. “There they are!”

He started running before Will even realized it. “Hey, wait up!” Will shouted after him, but Nico was already stomping up the front steps and standing in the doorway.

Will had just reached the bottom step when there was a cry of _“_ _ Nico! _ _”_ from inside, and one of the Warriors was enveloping the firebender in a hug. “What’re you doing here? How did you get here?”

“Bia,” Nico said, gesturing down the steps to where Will was standing. “This is Will, he brought me here. He’s a healer. Will, this is my sister, Bianca.”

“Thank you, Will, for bringing him here,” Bianca told him before pressing a kiss to Nico’s forehead. “We have a lot to talk about, Neeks. You need to start explaining  _ immediately." _

“Of course,” he said, then quieter: “But can we go somewhere private?”

Bianca nodded to him before poking her head back into the building. “Girls, my brother has escaped from the Fire Nation, and he needs to speak with me.”

Nico stepped down the porch stairs until he was on equal ground with Will. “I’m sorry, Will, but I need to talk to my sister. I haven’t seen her in over a year. I still want to travel with you, but would you mind waiting for me for a short while?”

“Of course not,” Will told him. “I’ve got friends here to catch up with, anyway. Go on, I’ll be here when you’re done.”

As Bianca and Nico walked away from the building, Bianca whispered, “Will seems like a  _ very  _ nice boy, Neeks.”

Nico covered his face with his hands. “Did everyone know except me?” he shouted, though it was muffled by his hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!


	4. Part One: Air; Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy 4th of july weekend!!  
> ive been super super busy the past couple of weeks and im doing my best to catch up with everything but it sure is taking a while u know so heres this at least

Bianca brought him to a small building a little ways away from the Warrior’s practice space. Inside were a series of bunks, some neatly made, some cluttered with personal items.

The two moved to the back of the room, and Bianca sat down on one of the beds. “Tell me everything,” she demanded.

Nico fell onto the bunk across from her. “Father was going to send Hazel away, and talked of having her killed. I couldn’t let that happen, so I helped her escape," he answered simply.

“Don’t you see how much danger you’ve put yourself in?” Bianca told him. “If Hazel had left on her own, no harm would’ve come to either of you, but Father will assume that you’ve been kidnapped. He’ll send out armies looking for you, Nico. He will not stop until you’ve returned to the palace.”

“I couldn’t stay there, Bianca,” Nico said, eyes dropping to the wooden floor between them. “You of all people should understand that. Father didn’t want me any more than he wanted Hazel.”

“He may not want you,” Bianca started, “but he  _ needs _ you, and he will admit to that.”

Nico’s hands tightened on the sheets below him. “I won’t go back there, Bia. I  _ can’t." _

Bianca took a deep breath. She leaned forward, placing a calming hand on Nico’s knee. “You will need to be incredibly careful. Remember when we used to sneak out of our rooms to sit in the garden in the middle of the night?” When Nico nodded, she continued, “You’ll need to be more careful than that. You will need to stay hidden, and you can’t remain in one place for very long. I wouldn’t be surprised if Father had posted bounty posters for you already. If you see one, leave that place at once. Do you understand?” 

“Yes, I do,” Nico answered.

“Will, you said you’re travelling with him, correct?”

“Yes,” Nico said again, starting to get confused, and a little worried. “I can continue to travel with him, right?”

“Does he know who you really are?” Nico shook his head. “Then yes, you can stay with him, but if he ever finds out your identity, or even mentions anything about seeing a bounty on your head, you run. As soon as he becomes suspicious, you have to leave Will behind. Can you do that?”

Nico crossed his arms, glancing off to the side. “Of course I can,” he said stubbornly. “It’s not like I’ve even known him very long, anyway.”

“Yes, but you already seem awfully attached,” Bianca commented. She stood, offering a hand to her brother. “While I want nothing more than to spend more time with you, Nico, you need to leave. Never in one place for long, remember that.” She pulled Nico to his feet, drawing him into a bone-crushing hug. Warrior training had done much to increase her strength, Nico realized. “I’ll miss you, Neeks.”

“You too, Bia,” he mumbled into her shoulder. 

She pulled back, holding Nico by his shoulders, an arm’s length away. “Be careful, be safe, and be sure to visit again, but not too soon.”

“Of course,” Nico said with a smile.

 

He found Will sitting on the porch of a nearby house, hand covering the bare knee of a young boy. Nico watched as Will pulled his hand away, revealing perfectly undamaged skin, and he began to roll down the boy’s pant leg. 

“Try to be more careful next time, okay, Harley?” he said gently. “I can’t be here every time you trip and scrape your knee, remember that.”

“I know,” Harley said in a small voice before hopping to his feet. “Thank you, Will.”

“No problem,” Will said, and then Harley was off, running down the road. Will watched him trip again, but catch himself before he fell.

He turned in Nico’s direction, face brightening when his eyes landed on the firebender. “Hey, Nico, how was your talk with your sister?”

“It was fine,” Nico answered, and opened his mouth to speak again when Will cut him off: “Y’know, I was talking to a couple of the other Kyoshi Warriors, and my friend, Thalia, she’s a firebender, too! She told me she can bend lightning, which is apparently a super rare thing for firebenders, but I’m sure she’d teach you if you wanted to learn.”

“Actually,” Nico said loudly, as soon as he heard an opening, “Bianca suggested that we leave.”

Will’s face fell. “Oh. Why?”

Nico rubbed at his arm. “Well, um, she’s a bit paranoid, and she’s afraid that staying in one place for too long is unsafe.”

Will snorted. “Says the Kyoshi Warrior that’s been training in one place for so long.” He stood up, adjusting his bag on his shoulder, and stepped closer to Nico. “It’s fine, of course. We can go now, if you want. And, just so you know for the future, I don’t usually stay in one place for more than a day, anyway.”

“That’s good,” Nico said, and repeated the phrase. “And, um, I would like to leave.”

Will gestured in the direction of the docks. “After you.”

 

As soon as they were a short distance from the island, Will pulled out the map again. “Where are we going?” he asked, laying the map out on the ground between the two of them.

Nico peered down at the map for a moment, before tipping his head up to look at Will. “You pick, this time.”

“But that’s boring,” Will laughed. “I’ll just pick the place that I think will have the most chance of injured people to heal, and that’s no fun for you.”

“Injured people usually means people in fights,” Nico told him. “Maybe I’ll get to practice a bit while you’re off healing everyone.”

“Oh, no,” Will said, rolling the map back up. “No picking fights.”

“How do you expect me to enjoy myself, then?” Nico joked, leaning back and resting his weight on his hands, head cocked to the side. 

“Isn’t exploring new places good enough for you?”

“Absolutely not,” Nico said, but he was still smiling. “Take me to one of your favorite places. Or, maybe not a favorite, but somewhere close that you like to visit.”

“Someplace that’ll keep you occupied enough to keep you from starting fights?” Will asked. 

“Exactly.”

Will grinned, standing and looking out at the water. “I have just the place in mind.”

 

The travelled until there were icebergs wherever Nico looked. Somehow, amongst all the icebergs, there was a small island that seemed to be in the middle of some kind of celebration. Will had pulled out a coat from one of the storage compartments of the boat, covering up his tan, freckled arms, and Nico tried not to be disappointed. It wasn’t very hard when he was so cold.

“One of your favorite places is the coldest spot on the planet?” Nico asked, rubbing at his arms to try and heat them up. 

Will brought out another coat from the storage area. “Not quite favorite, but someplace I like to visit. I  _ did _ live in the North Pole for a good portion of my life, remember, and this place kind of reminds me of home, in a way.”

“Why, because it’s cold?” Nico asked, and Will tossed the coat at him. Nico pulled it on, the sleeves falling past his fingertips. 

“The cold will keep you from picking fights,” Will said, reaching over to pull the hood down over Nico’s face. The coat was far too big for Nico, and the display was far cuter than Will had anticipated (he hadn’t been expecting it at all, to be fair). “Also! This just so happens to be the week of the sun festival, so I thought you might want to check it out.”

As the two of them exited the boat, Nico asked, “What made you think I’d want to go to a sun festival?”

“Well, you’ve got a connection with the sun,” Will said. “It’s in your blood. And, I dunno, I’ve never actually been before. It’ll be a new experience for both of us.”

“Why do they even have a festival for the sun?”

“It’s the solstice,” Will reminded him. “This week has the longest days of the year, and, this far south, that kind of means that the sun doesn’t go down. So the festival is kind of like a non-stop party, because the sun never sets, so the day never really ends.”

Nico hummed, but stayed silent as they entered the town. Even though the sun was still in the sky, the roads were lined with torches, and lanterns were strung between buildings. There were people everywhere Nico looked, more people than he thought could fit in the homes surrounding them.

Will lead him up a street, stopping at a vendor’s cart and buying a snack, which he handed to Nico. “C’mon, you can’t go to a festival without having some festival food.”

“Isn’t festival food usually just fried dough?” Nico asked, trying to hide the disgust on his face. Royalty would never eat something sold to them from a roadside cart. 

“Have you ever tried fried dough?” When Nico shook his head, Will held the snack out to him. “Try it.”

Nico took the snack in his hands, taking a small bite. It really was just fried dough, but it was  _ good. _  “It’s--” 

“Amazing, right?” Will finished for him. “C’mon, let’s go check everything else out.”

Will lead him around the town, where there were merchant booths, little tents set up for children’s puppet shows, and a big performance stage just off the ocean. They stopped to stand amongst the outer edge of the crowd as a man entered the stage, speaking loudly to gather everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he called over the crowd. “May we thank the spirits for another beautiful day for the sun festival.” The crowd applauded. “As tradition, on the fifth day of the festival, we send up sacrifices to the spirits in praise, sacrifices of our worst emotions. Our sadness, our anger, our hurt for the wrong that has been done to us. We channel these emotions tonight, and we focus them on one thing.”

A woman stepped up onto the stage behind him, carrying in her arms three straw dolls, placing them on stakes at the edge of the stage, the tallest in the middle, with the two others on either side. 

“Focus your emotions here, on the Firelord and his royal family,” the man shouted, gesturing down at the straw dolls in front of him. Nico had to stand up on his tip toes to get a clear look over other people’s heads, but he could tell from a short glance that the middle doll was a clear representation of his father. From his angle, he couldn’t see the others very well, but he desperately hoped that his doll didn’t resemble him too closely. “Focus, and we will set them ablaze!”

The man was handed a torch, and he held it over the middle doll. “The Firelord, the one responsible for our pain and suffering,” he cried, touching the flame to the head of the doll. He stepped to one side and spoke again: “His firstborn child, his daughter, the start of his legacy.” The Bianca doll went up in flames. The man moved to where Nico guessed the final doll remained. His own. “And his son, his successor, a child that we can only assume will grow to be a man as terrible as his father.”

Nico may not have been able to see the doll, but he could see the flames rising. He stumbled backwards, grabbing onto the sleeve of Will’s coat. His feet started working before his mind, pulling Will away from the crowd, through the mostly-empty streets, and back in the direction of the boat.

He collapsed on the ground before they could reach the docks. 

“Nico, are you okay?” Will asked, kneeling down in front of him. 

“I didn’t--” Nico took a breath. He felt like he was going to throw up. “I hadn’t realized that people hated the Fire Nation enough to want them all burned alive.”

“Most don’t,” Will told him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “And not necessarily every firebender, either. Sure, a lot of them are pretty terrible, but they don’t deserve that kind of death, not even the royal family. At least, not burning alive, that seems like it’d be too much of a comfort. Maybe drowning instead, that’s what I would do.”

Nico’s breath hitched, and he drew his legs up to his chest protectively. 

“Whoa, wait!” Will exclaimed, realizing what he’d said. “I-I didn’t mean that, I’m sorry. Let’s just-- Let’s get away from here, yeah? It’ll be night time when we find a warm enough island to sleep on, okay?”

Nico nodded, allowing Will to pull him up and lead him onto the boat.

For the first time, Nico wondered if he was safe, traveling with Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, im hoping i can update im in hell soon and finally get back on tumblr after almost 3 full weeks but we'll see how this goes


	5. Part One: Air; Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my friends my pals u have no idea how ready i am for u to read these next couple of chapters like honestly they're probably my favorites

Will had extras of just about everything on his boat, so when they docked at a small island just after sundown, he brought out two sleeping bags and carried them off the boat. Nico had shed the overlarge coat as soon as he stopped seeing icebergs, but had stayed curled up in a ball, tucked back into a corner.

Will had had to coax him onto land, gently leading him to where he’d laid out the sleeping bags on the soft grass.

While Will sat himself down, pulling the sleeping bag up around him and getting ready to sleep, Nico stood awkwardly, peering down at his own sleeping bag.

“Nico?” Will asked. “Is something wrong?”

Nico’s eyes flew up to his, and his fingers started to tug at the edge of his shirt. “I can’t sleep in these clothes,” he muttered. “I-- My other clothes are on the boat still, I think. I need to-- I’m going to go get them.”

“Be careful,” Will called after him, and watched as a small flame ignited in Nico’s palm. Will fell back onto the grass, hands scrubbing at his face before they fell down to his sides. As he stared up at the stars, he wondered how he possibly could’ve ruined his relationship with Nico before it even started.

He wouldn’t have realized that Nico had returned if it weren’t for his noisy steps. He lifted his head off the ground just in time to see a flash of bright red pants before Nico had tucked himself away into his spare sleeping bag.

“I’m sorry,” Will told him, rolling onto his side to face him.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Nico mumbled, drawing the sleeping bag up to cover his mouth.

“I do,” Will insisted. “I didn’t know that was going to happen, and I shouldn’t have said what I said, and--”

“That’s right,” Nico said clearly, tugging the sleeping bag down again. “You shouldn’t have, and you  _ didn’t _ know. There’s a  _ lot _ you don’t know, and you don’t need to apologize when you don’t even know what you’re apologizing for.”

“Right,” Will whispered. “Okay. Um.”

“Sorry,” Nico mumbled, and turned onto his back.

Will did the same, watching the stars and scanning for the few constellations he knew.

“Bianca and I used to sneak out at night to look at the stars,” Nico said after so long that Will had assumed he’d fallen asleep. “We were taught about constellations during the day, but we were never allowed to actually look at the real things. So we would sneak out and test each other and see how many we could remember.”

“Show me,” Will said.

“What?”

“Teach me a few constellations,” Will tried again. “The only star I ever learned was...” He took a moment to search the sky before pointing to a particularly bright star. “That one, the North Star.”

Nico scooted himself closer, eyes following the line of Will’s hand. He took Will’s wrist, moving it a few inches before he pulled his hand back. “That’s the North Star.”

“What?” Will’s head lolled to the side, and Nico was close enough that Will could see his smile in the light of the moon. “No way, the North Star has always been that bright one over there!”

“No, it’s always been that  _ brighter _ one over  _ there," _ Nico said with a laugh, bringing up his own hand to point at the sky. “See the stars around it? The North Star is the center of that arc there, see? And just off of the arc is the form of the Huntress. That constellation is the form of a girl was a bow drawn. The North Star is the tip of her arrow.”

Will squinted up at the sky. “How can you see that?”

“I told you, it was taught to me,” Nico said. “Legend says that the Huntress was the greatest protector of the Moon Spirit, so when she died in battle, the Moon Spirit placed her soul in the stars as a thank you for her devotion.”

“Is that true?” Will asked, and Nico snorted.

“If I ever meet the Moon Spirit, I’ll ask for you.”

“You know, being the Avatar and all, that’s a lot more possible than you think,” Will reminded him, and Nico went quiet. He tipped his head in Nico’s direction, seeing the firebender drawing in on himself again, and Will hurried to say, “Show me something else.”

Nico met his eyes hesitantly. “Yeah, okay.” His eyes scanned the sky before he brought his hand over Will’s chest, pointing towards the horizon. “That one, over there.”

 

Will didn’t know how many constellations Nico pointed out to him until they’d fallen asleep. All he knew was that the sun had risen, and he had woken up, and him and Nico were on their sides, facing each other. Nico’s eyes were still closed, and he looked so calm without the wrinkle of worry that always seemed to be present on his forehead. 

Will rolled onto his back, hands rubbing over his eyes as he tried to pretend that he hadn’t just thought of Nico as  _ cute. _ It wasn’t allowed, they were  _ friends, _ and Nico  _ trusted _ him to show him around and not do anything stupid because he had a  _ crush. _

He pulled himself out of his sleeping bag as quiet as he could so as to not wake the firebender beside him, and pulled on his shoes. He knelt down, placing a gentle hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Nico,” he whispered. “I’ll be right back, okay? I’m gonna find us some breakfast.” He paused, waiting to see if Nico would wake up and respond, but he simply sighed in his sleep and tucked himself further into his sleeping bag. 

Will stood, grabbed his bag, and set off in search for a town.

 

Nico woke up and he was alone. While at first he was worried, he quickly realized that he had been given a chance to change his clothes without fearing being watched. 

He changed quickly, because he didn’t know how long Will would be gone, and he was in the middle of putting his boots on when he heard something approaching. 

Nico hurried to strap on his boots before he stood, ready to attack if he needed to.

“Hey, woah, don’t shoot,” Will joked, holding his hands up in surrender. “I got breakfast.”

Nico relaxed, dropping his arms to his sides. “Where did you go?” he asked in a small voice.

“I told you,” Will said, dropping down onto his sleeping bag and pulling his bag into his lap. “Breakfast. I hope you like fruit.” He tossed Nico an apple.

“Where did you get this?” Nico asked before taking a bite and sitting down across from Will. 

“There’s a town over that way,” Will said, tipping his head in the direction he’d come from, and pulled out his own apple. “There was a produce stand with a lot of different fruits and vegetables that I didn’t recognize all of, so I figured apples were a safe bet.”

Nico nodded, and they ate in silence for a few moments. “How big is this island?” he asked when he was about halfway through his apple.

“I’m not so sure it’s an island, actually,” Will told him, glancing around. “I went into that town and didn’t really see the ocean anywhere but here.” His eyes met Nico’s. “Haven’t found a reason why we can’t look around for a while though, if you’re up for it.”

“Can we stay away from towns and, well, other people as best we can?” Nico asked.

Will laughed. “Of course. But we should probably pack our stuff onto the boat before we go exploring.”

So they finished eating, packed up their things, and loaded them into the storage compartments of Will’s boat before setting off to explore. Will lead them into the woods, explaining that it would be the best way to avoid the nearest town.

They walked for a while, much longer than Nico had expected, following a wide trail that looked to have been beaten into the ground by a combination of pounding feet and dragging carts.

“I’ve never seen trees this tall,” Nico said, tipping his head back to gaze upward. 

“Never?” Will asked, and as Nico kept his eyes pointed up, Will couldn’t help but keep his head tilted down, eyes drawn to the bender at his side. 

Nico shook his head. “And it’s so  _ dark, _  too, like they’re completely blocking out the sun.”

“Yeah,” Will agreed, “kind of.”

They were too focused on the trees to pay attention to the shifts in the shadows, too distracted to hear the difference between wind rustling the leaves and something else doing the same. They didn’t know they weren’t alone until they were surrounded.

“What do we have here?” someone said, and one of Will’s hands closed around Nico’s arm. 

“Looks like a waterbender,” another voice came from across the circle.

One of them stepped into the circle, eyes locked on Nico. “And something else,” he said, and Will tugged at Nico’s arm, pulling Nico behind him. 

“We’re just passing through,” Will said, loud and clear. 

Suddenly, the boy in front of them was on his back on the ground, and there was another boy behind him, stepping forward to take his place. “Ignore him,” he said, and then shouted to the surrounding circle: “Everyone, back to your posts.”

Nico pulled his arm out of Will’s grasp, sidestepping to get a better look at the boy before them: tall, like Will; black hair, like Percy’s, long enough to cover his eyes but brushed to the side; a black eyepatch, almost perfectly hidden behind the hair.

“I’m Ethan,” he said, lifting his hand from the hilt of his sword and holding it out for Will to shake. “Me and those idiots live in these woods. We protect the nearby towns from strangers passing through.” His eye flicked over to Nico, widening almost unnoticeably before he reached for Nico’s hand. “You, though, you look like you can protect yourself.”

“That’s right,” Nico huffed as he released Ethan’s hand, rubbing roughly at the space on his arm that Will had gripped. 

“It’s getting pretty late in the day,” Ethan said, gripping his sword and looking more at Nico than he did at Will. “Why don’t you hang around here a while, and I can hook you up with something to eat.”

“Thanks, Ethan,” Nico said, “That’d be great.”

Ethan grinned, and something about it didn’t look quite right to Will. “Right this way.”

 

It was almost like there was some kind of mini-civilization up in the trees. There were rope bridges to get from place to place, and zip lines that didn’t look quite safe that brought people to the ground. They ended up sitting in a circle, high off the ground, amongst the tree branches, eating fruits and nuts and some kind of meat that had been caught and cooked and brought up for them. 

Nico sat between Will and Ethan, across from a girl named Silena who kept bumping her shoulder into a strong-looking guy that didn’t say much.

Ethan nudged Nico with his elbow. “So what’s your story?” he asked, and Nico froze.

“What do you mean?” he said carefully.

“Well,” Ethan nodded his head towards Will, “he’s obviously from the water tribe, I can tell that much by looking at him. But you--” he leaned closer, “--I can’t figure you out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy oh boy this is the first time ive ever written ethan into anything and im excited!!!!  
> thanks for reading!!!


	6. Part One: Air; Chapter 6

Nico wasn’t sure what to think about Ethan - good things, though, he hoped. Ethan treated him like a person, which Nico still wasn’t fully used to, but he appreciated it. He...liked the attention that Ethan showed him, liked how Ethan’s eye never strayed too far from Nico’s. He was never the biggest fan of physical touch, but when Ethan handed him a plate of food and allowed their fingers to brush, Nico couldn’t find it in himself to mind. 

Will, however, no matter how much he pretended to listen to the conversation he was having with - Chris? - couldn’t help but notice every time Ethan leaned a little too close to Nico, and felt his blood boil. 

He didn’t trust this guy, and refused to believe that the feeling burning in his chest was jealousy. He got a bad feeling every time Ethan grinned like he did when he looked at Nico, like Nico was something small and defenseless that Ethan wanted to  _ eat. _

He turned when he heard a laugh, and saw a trace of a smile on Nico’s lips. Will tried to stay calm as he slammed his plate down onto the boards in front of him. “It’s getting late,” he said sternly, and the laughter around him stopped. “Thank you for the meal, but we should get going.”

Nico looked at him and pouted (he  _ pouted, _  and Will felt his heart flutter). He opened his mouth to respond, but Ethan spoke before him.

“Nico said your boat’s at the docks on the southern shore, right?” he confirmed, leaning forward so he could look at Will around Nico. “Those docks are more than half a day’s walk, if you’d forgotten, and the sun will be set in less than an hour. You’re better off staying here for the night.”

“I think I can handle a little darkness.” Will rolled his eyes. 

Nico elbowed him in the side. He furrowed his brow, head tilting to the side like Will had noticed it did when he was confused. “Why are you being so rude?” he asked quietly, just above a whisper. 

“I’m not,” Will insisted. “You’re the one that didn’t want to stay in one place for long.”

“We’re safe here,” he said, and turned to Ethan. “Right? No one can find us this high up in the trees.”

“That’s right,” Ethan answered, and Will saw him leaning closer to Nico  _ again. _  “You’re safe here, for as long as you’d like to stay.”

Will stood abruptly. “Then where can we sleep for the night? I’d like to get settled in quickly so we can leave early tomorrow morning.”

“What’s your problem?” Nico hissed up at him.

“Chris, show Will where he can sleep,” Ethan ordered before he rose to his feet. He held out a hand to Nico. “I’d like to show you something, before the sun goes down. Unless you’d like to turn in early like  _ him." _

Nico took Ethan’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet, and he stumbled barely closer to Ethan. Nico missed the smirk that Ethan shot over his shoulder, but Will didn’t. If he wasn’t being led away by a man much stronger than he was, he might’ve pushed Ethan right out of the trees. 

 

They ziplined to the ground, and when Nico looked back up, all he saw were leaves and branches. 

“That’s amazing,” he said. “It’s completely camouflaged.” 

“Like you said, no one could find us up there,” Ethan said. He took Nico’s wrist in his hand, giving a light tug, just enough to get him moving. “C’mon, this way.”

He pulled Nico off the beaten path, weaving between the trees until it was dark enough that Nico couldn’t see what he was tripping over.

“Wait, Ethan, hang on,” Nico said, tugging on Ethan’s arm. “How can you see anything, it’s so dark!”

“Right, sorry,” he said, and he made a show of patting at his pockets before saying, “I must’ve left the torch in the tree house, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Nico told him. “Um, can you promise me you won’t freak out?”

“I--” Ethan stopped himself. “Yeah, of course.”

Nico waited another second before he held out a hand, igniting a small flame in his palm, enough light for him to see Ethan’s eye widen.

“You’re a firebender,” Ethan said. 

“Please don’t freak out,” Nico pleaded. “I am, but I-- I’m not. I’m not bad, I escaped from the Fire Nation, I’m not-- I’m not  _ one of them." _

Slowly, Ethan began to nod his head. “Okay. Okay, I believe you. Let’s keep going, it’s not much farther.”

He grabbed for Nico’s free hand, pulling him until the trees around them thinned and vanished, and before them was a cliff overlooking the ocean, the sun just ending its fall behind the horizon. 

Nico stepped toward the cliff, hoping to get a better view. “Wow. There’s not-- There aren’t views like this in the Fire Nation.”

“Turn around,” Ethan said from behind him, and Nico turned. Before he knew what was happening, the cold point of a sword was pressed under his chin, and he was being backed toward the edge of the cliff. “I wasn’t sure, when I first saw you. I thought maybe it was a coincidence - a cute one, but a coincidence nonetheless.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Nico asked, tipping his head up when the blade of Ethan’s sword pressed harder into his skin.

Ethan reached into one of his pockets, pulling out a rolled up piece of paper and letting it uncurl in his hand. There were words on the page that Nico didn’t focus on. Instead, his eyes locked on the drawing of his own face.

It looked different than he did now: in the picture, his hair was pulled back out of his face. The collar of the robes he was forced to wear for formal events was visible at the bottom edge, robes that he never hoped to wear again. He looked different, but he was still very clearly the same person.

“What is that?” Nico asked. “Where did you find it?”

“The Firelord can’t afford good enough tutors to teach you to read?” Ethan spat. “They’re plastered all over the nearby towns. Frankly, I’m surprised no one else caught you first. But now, you’re mine, and you’re going back home so I can get my reward.”

Nico backed up another step, until he felt the edge of the cliff at his heels. “I’ll jump,” he said. “I’ll jump and you’ll never get the money.”

“Jump, and your water tribe boyfriend will get to feel what it’s like to have a sword between his ribs.” Nico’s breath caught in his throat. “He’ll be dead before he can even  _ think _ to try healing himself.”

“I won’t let you hurt him,” Nico muttered, and raised his hands, shooting flames towards Ethan’s face. 

Ethan dropped to the ground, easily dodging the flames and letting his sword fall from Nico’s throat at the same time. 

“You think I can’t avoid a poor shot like that?” Ethan asked, rising to his feet. “How do you think I lost my eye?” He raised his sword and stepped toward Nico, raising his arms to strike.

Nico flinched backwards, fearing the blow before it came, and his foot slid off the edge. He met Ethan’s gaze, all three eyes between them wide with shock and fear, and Ethan reached a hand out. He gripped Nico’s sleeve, but the fabric ripped under his hand and Nico fell.

“He’s dead,” Ethan called down as Nico tumbled through the air. “He’s dead as soon as I see him!”

Ethan turned, sheathing his sword and starting his march back into the woods, when he heard the sound like a tornado rising up behind him.

He moved to face the cliff once more, just in time to see Nico rising over the edge, eyes glowing and hands aflame. 

“No one touches him,” Nico demanded, voice deep and booming, echoing and so unlike his own.

Ethan fell onto his back, eye full of fear as he watched Nico hover above him. The flames around Nico’s hands extinguished, and the hands raised as Ethan felt himself rising with them. He floated off the ground, and as Nico made a sweeping motion with his hands, Ethan was thrown into the open air, off the edge of the cliff. 

Nico’s body lowered until his feet landed on the ground, and his knees gave out from under him. He dropped to his hands and knees, eyes clearing in time to see Ethan fading to a speck below him.

Nico breathed deep and rose to his feet. The poster with his face on it laid on the ground in flames. 

 

Nico never would have found the tree houses if it weren’t for Silena dropping to the ground in front of him on the path. She didn’t ask where Ethan was, simply sighed and brought Nico up into the trees. She showed him to Will, telling them that they were still able to sleep there that night, but that they needed to be gone by morning.

Nico looked so shaken up that Will had pulled him into his arms. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. “What happened?”

“I-I think,” Nico took a breath and gently pushed Will off of him. “Ethan is gone, he...he might be dead, I’m not sure. I think I went into the Avatar state.”

“Really?” Will asked, hands still lightly gripping Nico’s arm - one sleeved, one bare. “How do you know?”

“I kind of blacked out, I think,” Nico answered, head tipped down to avoid eye contact, “but not really. I could see what was happening, but I-- I couldn’t move. And...I was bending, but there wasn’t any fire. I think I need--”

“What, Nico?” Will asked. “What do you need? Let me help.”

Nico met his gaze, eyes full of fear. “I need to go back. To Ogygia, I need to learn how to control myself. I didn’t-- I thought, maybe, I wasn’t, but--” He closed his eyes. “I’m the Avatar, and I need to master the four elements.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> avatar state yip yip


	7. Part One: Air; Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i almost completely forgot to post this oops that seems to happen a lot i guess

As soon as the boat was out on the water, Nico had asked Will to turn around and not look back until he was told to. Will knew that Nico was self-conscious, or had some other reason for not wanting anyone to see him undress, so of course, Will turned his back and waited for the OK.

Nico rummaged around in his bag, but somehow, it didn’t seem like he had a single other long sleeved shirt to replace the one that had been ripped. He groaned quietly, shedding the ruined shirt and throwing on the short sleeved black shirt he’d been sleeping in for the past few nights before buttoning up the vest over it.

“You can turn around now,” Nico muttered, sitting back against the wall of the boat and crossing his arms. 

Will came to sit next to him, glancing at his bare arms out of the corner of his eye. Nico’s face, the only skin that ever really got sun, was barely two shades darker than his arms, leaving Will to assume that Nico never spent much time out in the sun. 

While he was not-looking at Nico’s arms, Will spotted red lines, like scratch marks, moving from his shoulder downward. Will rested his fingers gently against the marks, causing Nico to flinch.

“Sorry,” Will told him, but didn’t lift his hand. “You never told me how your shirt got ripped.”

Nico softened, just barely, before he spoke. “Ethan. There was a cliff, and he was threatening me, and I almost fell. He grabbed my shirt and it ripped. I guess he scratched my arm, too.”

“Can I heal it for you?” Will asked, and Nico shrugged but seemed to hold his arm out to Will. 

Will opened his canteen, bending out a small ball of water and smoothing it over Nico’s arm. 

“There’s water out there,” Nico said, tipping his head behind him in a gesture to the ocean. “Why waste your supply?”

“Have you ever had salt water in an open wound?” Will asked. “It burns like crazy.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “It’s not an  _ open wound, _  the skin’s barely broken.”

“It would still hurt,” Will said, shrugging. He pulled his hand away from Nico’s arm. “All done.”

Nico frowned. “But I didn’t even feel it that time.”

“Like you said, it’s barely anything.”

“Then why did you even bother fixing it?”

Will leaned closer, smiling bright. “I like to help.”

Nico turned away, eyes focusing on the opposite wall of the boat. After a few seconds, he glanced back to Will out of the corner of his eye, cheeks turning a light pink. “Can you...stop touching my arm?”

“Sorry,” Will said again, moving his hand from Nico’s arm to his own lap. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”

Nico wrapped his arms around his stomach again, bringing his knees up as if to hide his bare skin. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to seem rude, or insensitive, or something,” Will said, hands fidgeting in his lap. “I don’t want to offend you, or--”

“Will,” Nico cut in. “Ask.”

“Right, okay.” Will took a breath. “It’s about your clothes. Or, well, no. It’s-- You’re very careful about making sure that people don’t see you without your clothes on.”

“That’s not a question,” Nico told him. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Will replied. “I’m not sure what I was trying to ask.”

“I think I know,” Nico said quietly. “You’re wondering why I wear long pants and long sleeves and layers, even when it’s so hot outside.”

“Uh, yeah, I think that’s it.”

“My Father was--” Nico frowned, trying to find the words. “He held a very high position in the Fire Nation. I could never be seen in public in...” He looked down at himself. “Well, this, even, is too little clothes. I was barely allowed to walk outside of my room dressed like this, let alone go out in public. 

“I’ve always been forced to wear very specific things, and after sixteen years, it’s-- It’s difficult to know what’s improper or not in places with cultures so different from your own. And it’s not even just  _ clothes, _  it’s other things too.” Nico’s head turned to face Will, and suddenly, they were a lot closer than Will had been expecting. “It’s not just how I’m allowed to dress, it’s how I’m allowed to speak, how I’m allowed to act. I don’t know...” Will imagined Nico’s eyes flicking down to Will’s lips, and flicking back up to his own. (He did imagine that, right?) “I don’t know what’s improper.”

 

They arrived at Ogygia around midday. Everyone had gathered around a fire, like they had when they’d eaten dinner on Nico’s last night there, eating together. No one had even noticed Nico and Will approaching until they were practically a part of the circle themselves.

Hazel had greeted them first, jumping to her feet and running to give Nico a hug. She asked about their trip, and why they were back so soon, and when Nico had neglected to give an answer, Will told her that Nico had some big news to share.

Hazel had gotten a worried look on her face, but Will had chosen to ignore it, choosing instead to call for everyone’s attention.

“I’m going to need help from some of you to learn bending,” Nico said.

“Uh, Nico?” Percy spoke up. “Not sure if you remember, but Leo’s the only one here that can firebend.”

“And you probably  _ don’t _ want him showing you any new moves,” Jason jumped in.

“Unless you want to get blown up,” Piper finished.

“Hey, I can’t believe you guys,” Leo blurted. “I can firebend just fine, thank you very much. Who do you think started this fire?”

“That’s, uh, not what I meant,” Nico spoke over them. “I meant that I’m going to need help learning the other three elements.” He was met with a series of confused expressions. “Because I’m the Avatar.”

There were a lot of exasperated noises, and Percy shouted, “That’s awesome, man!” loudest of all. Hazel had jumped up again, asking Nico, “How do you know?”

“I’ll explain everything to you,” Nico told her. “Just not right now.”

“Sweet, so we can start your training whenever you’re ready,” Jason said once most of the noise had died down. 

“Tomorrow?” Nico asked, and Jason gave him a thumbs up.

“Alright, all of your bending aside,” Annabeth said loudly, looking pointedly at Will and Nico, “you two look like you haven’t had a good meal in a little while. Take a seat, grab some food.”

 

Nico had ended up getting into a conversation with Leo about firebending during the meal, and ended up agreeing to teach him a few moves before he started his Avatar training the next day. They’d eaten quickly, moving away to the clearing before starting anything.

“Show me what you know,” Nico said, leaving Leo in the middle of the clearing, and moving away to stand at the edges. He’d heard that Leo was incredibly unpracticed, and didn’t want to be in the line of fire. Literally.

Leo demonstrated a few very simply moves, and whoever had said that Leo hadn’t gotten any proper training was right.

Nico showed him a few things that he figured Leo would easily be able to get the hang of, but had barely started teaching before Will came into the clearing with a paper in his hand.

“Hey, Will,” Leo called, waving his arm, and Nico had easily knocked him down. Never lose focus during a drill.

“Careful, don’t bust him up too bad,” Will scolded Nico, though he was smiling. 

“He’s fine, we’ve got a healer handy,” Nico shot back.

“Actually, about that,” Will said, holding the paper up. “I just got a message, asking for me about a day’s trip away. I wanted to tell you before I left, since I did offer to show you around everywhere, in case you wanted to come with me.”

Nico pouted. “I would love to, Will, but I need to start training. I don’t want to wait much longer, when I’ve already wasted so much time.”

“Of course,” Will said, and tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. “Well, uh, I’ve gotta be heading out, then. I’ll be back in a few days, maybe, so you’ll have to show me all the new bending you learn. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Nico said. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Okay. Um, bye, I guess,” Will said with a small wave as he started to walk away.

Leo came up and threw an arm around Nico’s shoulders. “Geez, could you two flirt any louder?” he asked, only loud enough for Nico to hear.

Nico yanked the arm off of him. “I’m going to light you on fire.”

Leo laughed loudly. “I’d like to see you try!” Within seconds, he was shouting again: “Wait, stop, I was kidding!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no post next monday i'll be going camping so deep in the woods that i wont even be able to use a cell phone so itll be interesting i hope i dont fall off a cliff and die  
> thanks for reading!!


	8. Part One: Air; Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait! I've returned home alive from my camping trip so heres a new chapter!!! its a little bland but i hope you enjoy!!!

Leo’s bending had improved, and everyone was surprised. In half a day, Nico had turned a ticking time bomb into someone manageable, someone that wouldn’t accidentally light someone else on fire.

Nico had started his airbending training the next day. He’d been expecting to find Jason after breakfast, but instead, there was a girl he’d never seen with a long caramel braid over her shoulder, who seemed to be waiting for him.

“Nico, yes?” she asked. She had some kind of accent that Nico couldn’t pinpoint. Even with all of his studies, accents and dialects were never taught to him. “I am Calypso, Jason told me that you need someone to teach you airbending. Come with me, we will start immediately.”

She turned and started to walk away, and Nico hurried to follow her toward a small structure that reminded Nico of a cave. Instead of a door, there was a curtain that Calypso pulled to the side and held open for Nico to walk through.

The inside was lined with blankets and cushions, and Calypso gestured for Nico to sit. “I’ve heard that you taught my Leo to control his bending,” Calypso commented as she sat down across from Nico. She smiled. “Thank you for that.”

_ “ Your _ Leo?” Nico asked. “You two are...?”

“Together?” Calypso filled in. “Yes. He doesn’t seem like much, I know, but he makes me laugh.”

Calypso straightened, folding her hands in her lap. “Now, let us begin. Sit up straight, and close your eyes. Feel the air around you.”

Nico followed her directions, frowning after a moment. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?” Calypso repeated. “Explain.”

Nico opened his eyes. “I can’t feel the air. There’s no breeze, nothing to feel.”

Calypso smiled. “That is where you are wrong. As an airbender, you are able to control the air currents, even when there are no currents to control. You take the still air and make a current of your own. Now, feel the still air around you, and feel a breeze. Focus on the breeze, and it will come.”

Nico closed his eyes again. He breathed, and concentrated on feeling the air move around him. After a moment, he felt his hair brushing against his cheek, and slowly, the breeze grew stronger.

“Very good,” Calypso told him. “It seems that you are a very fast learner. Let’s try something else.” She held up a hand and a jar flew off one of the shelves on the opposite side of the room, landing in her hand. “Control the currents. Your turn.”

 

They stopped once at lunch, and then again for dinner. There was a lot of sitting and concentrating, which reminded Nico of his tutoring sessions back at the palace. 

The next morning, when Nico went to Calypso to continue his lessons, she stopped him before he could enter her cave. “You have learned all that I can teach you,” Calypso told him. “I know only the basics, only enough to prepare you for more. Jason will take over as your teacher from now on. He is much more advanced in his bending, and will be a much greater teacher than I. Go now, he is waiting on the shore.”

Nico nodded politely before turning away, heading for the part of the island where he and Hazel had been dragged ashore from their ship. Jason was standing, facing the water, when Nico approached. 

When Jason heard him walking up, he turned quickly and pushed forward a wall of wind, knocking Nico off his feet. 

Nico laid back in the sand, still dazed when Jason grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. “Calypso told me you’re done with the basics,” Jason said once Nico was standing on his own two feet. “If you haven’t noticed, I won’t be going easy on you out here. Airbending is more than fancy tricks, so you need to be alert at all times. Got it?”

Nico nodded. 

“Then let’s get started.”

 

Jason taught like he was actively fighting. Instead of trying to teach Nico new moves, they sparred, over and over again, until Jason was no longer knocking Nico off his feet, but the other way around. After that, after Nico had knocked Jason into the sand three times in a row, they moved on, and the real lessons began.

By the end of the day, Nico was flying. 

(Except, not really, because people can’t fly, airbender or not. He could jump incredibly high, and he could sustain his falls, but it was almost like flying.)

He couldn’t wait to show Will. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!!  
> if anybody wants to know what else im working on then check out my tumblr @buoyantsaturn


	9. Part One: Air; Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy oh boy so many things Happen in this chapter i hope you enjoy

Hazel had been spending a good amount of her time training with Frank. She’d progressed faster than Nico had expected, but, to be fair, she’d never received any proper teaching, like Nico had. 

Nico approached her after her training session one day. “You should spar with me,” he said. “I want to try out all the airbending I’ve learned, and I promise I won’t use any firebending.”

Hazel scrunched up her nose. “I dunno, Nico, I’m not very good yet.”

“I just saw you with Frank!” Nico exclaimed. “I thought you were doing great! C’mon, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t think it would be a fair fight.”

Hazel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Alright, fine. Lead the way.”

Nico grinned, grabbing Hazel’s wrist and pulling her toward the clearing. They stood at opposite ends, facing each other, and waited for the other to make the first move.

After a short moment, Nico saw Hazel’s foot stomp into the ground a split second before he was launched into the air. He slowed his fall and let the air currents push him closer to Hazel until he knew he could reach her. He extended his arms to his sides and brought them together with a clap of his hands, sending a strong gust of wind down to his sister. She was knocked back in the breeze.

A rock sprung out of the ground, pushing her back to her feet before she landed hard on the ground. “Careful,” Hazel told him as Nico’s feet touched the ground. “Will’s not back yet, so we can’t hurt each other too bad.”

“I’m being careful,” Nico told her, arms crossing over his chest. 

“Yeah, well, be careful of  _ this," _  Hazel said with a grin, stomping again until a rock bigger than she was rose out of the ground, and she kicked it in Nico’s direction. 

He barely had time to jump over the boulder with a boost from the wind before it sailed past him. Nico watched as it sailed all the way out to the water behind him. “Are you trying to kill me?” he asked, and turned back to Hazel just in time for a much smaller rock flew into his stomach. He was thrown backward by the force, sitting down hard on the ground. “What happened to careful?” he groaned. 

“Can’t go careful on the Avatar,” Hazel said. “You gotta toughen up quick, Neeks.”

Nico rolled the small boulder out of his lap and stood slowly. “Ugh,  _ why." _

“Because it’s your  _ job, _  that’s why,” Hazel said, already preparing another rock to throw at him. 

Nico dodged the rock easily this time, and began slicing his hands through the air, firing short, sharp bursts of wind at Hazel, who drew up a rock-shield in defense. The rock crumbled after the first few hits, and Hazel was knocked to the ground.

“Alright, you win,” Hazel said, holding her hands up to stop Nico from attacking.

Nico stepped closer to her, dropping on the ground beside his sister. He set a hand on his stomach, right where the rock had hit. “I think you broke something.”

“That’s fine, your boyfriend will be back soon to fix it,” Hazel teased.

Nico brought both hands up to his face, covering the blooming blush.  _ "Stop," _ he begged, drawing out the word.

“What?” Hazel asked innocently. “Don’t you like him?”

“You and Bianca are the same person,” Nico complained, slamming his hands down onto the ground on either side of him. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I told you, Will and I visited Kyoshi, and as soon as Bia and I were alone, she told me that she thought Will was a  _ very nice boy _ or something like that,” Nico answered. “You and I both know exactly what she meant.”

“So what’s the problem?” Hazel asked, head lolling to the side to watch her brother. “You like Will, he likes you. Do something about it!”

Nico frowned, his entire face scrunching up, and he sat up so quickly that his stomach hurt. He wrapped his arms around himself, half shielding his wound, and half in discomfort. He brought his knees up in front of himself, effectively turning himself into a ball.

“Nico, we’ve been over this.” Hazel sat up with him, running a hand up and down his back. “There’s nothing wrong with liking Will.”

“But what if there  _ is?" _  he whispered. “Father would-- I would be  _ beaten _ for expressing these kinds of feelings at home.”

“He’s not here, Nico, and that place is  _ not _ home,” Hazel told him. “This is home, now. You never have to worry about what the Firelord has to say about anything, ever again.”

“That kind of relationship is... It’s against our culture. What if it’s against his?”

“Will is water tribe, right?” Hazel asked, and when Nico nodded, she continued, “Members of the water tribe don’t often leave home, Nico. I have a feeling that Will has already abandoned his culture, for the most part.”

“What if I’m misunderstanding his feelings?” Nico asked, and it seemed like he was grasping for excuses. “What if he’s just nice, but I’m reading it wrong?”

“He’s very nice,” Hazel told him. “Will is nice, and selfless, and an overall wonderful person. But he’s different with you than with everyone else. He’s...brighter, I think. And it doesn’t seem like he can take his eyes off of you, sometimes.”

Nico took a deep breath. “You’re sure?”

“I am.”

“Because if you’re not sure, you need to tell me,” Nico continued, as if Hazel hadn’t even spoken. “I don’t want to act on something and have it be a mistake, or have Will reject me, or--”

“Nico,” Hazel said, loud and clear. “I’m sure. Will’s not going to reject you. You’re making this a bigger deal than it is.”

Nico took another breath, dropping his chin to rest on his knees. “I’ve never dated anyone before, Hazel. I don’t know how to do that.”

“You’ll figure it out as you go,” Hazel told him reassuringly. “The same way that everyone else does. You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Hazel.”

 

Will returned in the middle of the night. He stumbled ashore, hoping to be able to sneak into his shack for his spare supplies without anyone noticing him. But, of course, the island always had a guard at night, watching for passing ships and possible attacks, and tonight’s guard wasn’t prone to falling asleep, like Percy.

Annabeth must’ve seen Will before he saw her, or maybe she’d heard him. He was probably being pretty loud, stomping around and trying to stay upright like he was.

“Will, is that you?” Annabeth called out to him, rushing toward him. She gasped when she got a good look at him in the dark. “What happened to you?”

Despite the pain, Will smiled at her as he adjusted the sling that held his arm, so that it wouldn’t dig into his neck so much. “Nothing a little rest won’t fix. Mind helping me to my shack?”

Annabeth pulled Will’s uninjured arm over her shoulders, wrapping an arm around his waist and guiding him along in the dark. 

“Are you going to be alright on your own?” she asked as they approached his shack. “Piper’s been working on her healing abilities, I can wake her up--”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Will cut in. “Don’t wake anyone up.” They stopped outside the doorway, Will pulling his arm off of Annabeth’s shoulders. “In fact, would you mind not even telling anyone that I’m here? Not until I’ve gotten myself all healed up, at least.”

“Are you sure?” Annabeth asked as Will started to duck away behind the curtain in his doorway.

“Yep,” he said, disappearing from Annabeth’s view. His head popped back out after only a second. “Especially not Nico, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Annabeth said, and returned to her post. 

Inside the shack, Will dropped down onto the ground with a wince, grabbing for his spare supplies in the corner. He’d lost everything he’d been carrying around with him - half of his money, a change of clothes, and the canteen he used for healing. Thankfully, Will knew there was a spare canteen of fresh water around somewhere, and used his good arm to dig around.

Finally, his hand closed around it, and he managed to open the top by holding the canteen between his knees and unscrewing the top with his good hand. Will untied his sling to uncover his arm, and drew the water out of the canteen, spreading it over his injured appendage. 

He wanted to scream when the healing began, but he knew he had to keep quiet. He bit his lip until it bled, but that didn’t even come close to the burning he felt as he bones settled and repaired. 

The healing and excruciating pain combined made Will feel incredibly weak, but he had the mind to close up his canteen before he passed out.

 

Nico had a hard time containing his excitement the next morning. Will would be back soon, hopefully that day, and it was all that Nico could think about.  _ He was finally going to get to tell Will how he felt. _

He could barely sit still, and so Hazel had insisted that they spar again, to help Nico deal with all of his excess energy. They were both a little bit more aggressive that day, but Nico was enjoying himself more than he ever really remembered, and when he launched himself high into the air, he’d never felt so free.

On his descent, Nico had looked down, eyes locking on a familiar head of blond hair, and let himself fall quickly. He gave himself a cushion of air to bounce off before his feet connected with the ground, softening his fall, and ran to lessen the distance between himself and Will. 

Nico was ready to throw his arms around Will and confess to him right there, but he froze when he saw Will’s face. Under his left eye was a dark purple stain to his skin, stretching from high on his cheekbone to the inner corner of his eye.

“Will,” Nico said, voice small, as his hand reached up to cup Will’s cheek, thumb brushing feather-light over the bruised skin. “What happened?”

Will’s hand closed around his wrist, drawing Nico’s hand away before feeling at the skin himself with a wince. “I guess I forgot about that,” he muttered, pulling his hand away and looking at the tips of his fingers, as if they might be stained. 

“Forgot about it?” Nico repeated, tone laced with worry. “Will, how did that happen?”

Will glanced around before he reached for Nico’s hand again. “I’ll tell you if you come with me.”

“Yeah, of course,” Nico told him, and Will immediately started moving. Nico shot a worried look over his shoulder to Hazel.

Will dragged him into his shack, sitting down careful and gesturing for Nico to do the same. “I was attacked,” Will told him, voice flat. “I guess someone recognized me from one of the villages we went to recently, because they said they saw me travelling with you.”

“That was because of me?” Nico asked, almost in a whisper.

“They threw a wanted poster in my face, and it had a picture of you on it,” Will continued. “I didn’t have time to read what it said before one of the guys punched me. They asked where you were, so that they could collect the reward on the poster, and I kept telling them that I didn’t know what they were talking about, that I didn’t know who you were and that they had the wrong guy, but they didn’t believe me. 

“The other guy broke my arm and said,  _ His father’s got a lot worse planned for him when he gets back. _  Then they threw me on the ground and took my bag, and left.”

“I’m so sorry, Will,” Nico said, eyes welling up and threatening to spill over. “I had no idea something like that would happen, I’m  _ so sorry." _

“Did you know about the bounty?” Will asked, voice still the same flat tone that it had been throughout the conversation.

“Yes,” Nico whispered. “But I didn’t know anything would happen to you.”

“Why is it so important that you return to the Fire Nation?” Will asked. “Who is your father that he has  _ that _ much money for a reward?”

Nico hung his head, and the tears began to fall. “I can’t tell you that.”

“I was punched in the face,” Will said, voice rising. “I got my arm broken because I was trying to protect you, but you can’t tell me a single thing about who you really are. Is it because you’re the Avatar? They knew, but they didn’t tell you, and now they want you back as some secret weapon in the war, or something?”

“No, that’s not it,” Nico said.

“Then  _ what, _  Nico?” Will shouted, and Nico flinched.

“I’m the prince,” Nico whispered, eyes squeezing shut.

Will froze. “What?”

“I’m the  _ prince," _  Nico told him, head snapping up and eyes meeting Will’s. “My Father is the Firelord, that’s how he has the money, and I’m his only son and heir to the throne.  _ That’s _ why it’s  _ so _ important to him that I return.”

Will didn’t move, didn’t speak.

Nico wiped at his cheeks and began to laugh. “I was so excited for you to come back today, Will. I like you, and Hazel thought you liked me too, and I was going to tell you, and I was about to, right when I saw you. I like you, Will.” He sniffed, feeling fresh tears stream down his cheeks, too quick to wipe away. “I like you, and now you hate me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Part One
> 
> honestly i didnt think through the whole "part" thing bc part one is 9 chapters, part two is like 5ish and part three is like 4 so nothing about it is even but trust me,,,,, u wouldnt want me to drag out part three any longer than it is,,,,,, and thats all the info u get on the rest of the fic ok 
> 
> thanks for reading!!!


	10. Part Two: Water; Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to part two, where its basically all angst all the time enjoy

Will crawled across the small space that divided them until he was kneeling directly in front of Nico. At this point, the firebender was sobbing, hands covering his face and lungs fighting for air, and while Will had a strong part of him demanding that he  _ run, get out of there as fast as you can, _ he listened to something else.

Will took one of Nico’s hands in his own, holding it against his chest, over his heart. Nico’s head snapped up in shock, and he probably would’ve frozen completely if he weren’t hyperventilating. 

“Copy my breathing,” Will told him, drawing in a deep, slow breath and exhaling. “Calm down, Nico, just breathe.”

Nico’s eyes locked on Will’s as he tried to take even breaths, and Will tried to keep his expression as blank as possible, and not show the worry that he felt deep down inside.

They breathed as one, and slowly, Nico’s sobs subsided. Will brought his free hand up and wiped a stray tear from Nico’s cheek. 

Will sighed, dropping his gaze. “I don’t hate you, Nico,” he said calmly. “I promise you, I don’t. I used to, I hated you as a figurehead, but then I met you, so I don’t anymore. I don’t  _ like _ you very much right now, after all the secret keeping, but I don’t think I could ever hate you again.”

“Will--” Nico breathed, but Will wasn’t finished.

“I did like you, Nico, before I left. I liked you a lot, probably close to how you feel about me, but right now, I’m having a hard time feeling anything.”

“Will,” Nico tried again, and this time Will didn’t stop him. “Please don’t think badly of me. Don’t think of me as the prince, think of me like you did before. Like, like the Avatar, or-- Just some firebender that ran away from home, because  _ that’s what I am. _  I’m not the prince anymore, I don’t want to be that person ever again. I want to live my own life out here, away from the Fire Nation. I want to spend my time traveling,  _ with you." _

Will cast his gaze off to the side, and Nico’s fingers closed around Will’s shirt where they still rest. Will flinched, like he’d forgotten they were there, and let his own hand slip away.

“Will,  _ please," _  Nico begged, but Will shuffled back until Nico’s hand was forced to release him. 

“Let me think,” Will said quietly, before he was standing and walking back out of the shack.

Nico drew his legs up to his chest as tears began to flow once more.

 

About half an hour passed before Nico realized that Will wouldn’t be returning so soon, so he stood and left. He found Jason near the fire pit, and asked him about training that day.

“Actually,” Jason started, “I was just looking for you. I think you’ve got airbending down pretty good. Maybe not mastered, but good enough for now. You’ve earned yourself a break from it, at least. But I talked to Piper, and she’s ready to start teaching you waterbending whenever you’re ready; today, if you want.”

Nico nodded. “Today, yeah. Do you know where she is?”

Jason tipped his head to the side, pointing toward the beach. “Down by the water, of course. Be prepared, she’s not gonna go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect her to,” Nico told him before he walked off toward the ocean.

He’d never been a fan of the water, though he supposed that had something to do with the firebender inside of him. He was never one for swimming, absolutely never tried surfing on the Western shores of the Fire Nation like every other kid, and tended to just keep his distance from the water in general. Even taking the ship to Ogygia from the palace had been far out of his comfort zone, but he’d forced himself to do it, for Hazel’s sake.

So Nico knew that waterbending wasn’t going to be his favorite. Especially when he came up to the beach and saw Piper floating along in the water, talking with a certain blond that was letting the waves slowly bury his feet in the sand.

“Nico!” Piper called when her eyes landed on him. She hopped up onto the sand and bent the water out of her hair. Will had turned in shock, nearly falling into the water when he tripped over the sand burying his feet, and eventually took a few steps back to distance himself from the firebender. “Jason said you’re ready to try out some waterbending.”

Nico nodded. “He told me that you’re willing to help.” He tried his best to keep his eyes from straying away from Piper.

“Of course! Take off your shoes and come stand in the water with me, and we’ll get started.” She turned and stepped back into the waves, but Nico didn’t move.

“Uh, I’d really rather not,” he told her, rubbing awkwardly at his arm. “I’m not a big fan of the water, and I’d really just like to try covering the basics for now.”

Piper frowned and crossed her arms, but when Nico remained where he was, she moved back onto the beach. “Alright, fine, we’ll stay on land. But next time, we’re going in the water, got it?”

Nico nodded again. He made the mistake of glancing over to the side, where Will was now sitting against the base of a tree, watching the exchange. Their eyes met, and both looked away at the same time.

“Come stand over here,” Piper told him, waving a hand at him. Nico stood at the edge of the beach, just far enough from the water that the tide wouldn’t reach his shoes. “Now, hold your hands out and imagine you’re pushing and pulling the water, like you’re making your own waves. Try to take the current that already exists, and pull the waves further up the shore.”

Nico tried to copy Piper’s movements, pushing and pulling at the water, but the waves didn’t seem to change. “I’m not getting this,” Nico ground out, glaring out at the water.

“Take your time,” Piper told him. “Waterbending will probably be the hardest on you, since water is the natural opposite of fire, but you’ll get it. I believe in you. Will, you believe in Nico, right?”

Will’s head snapped up, suddenly paying attention. “What? Uh, yeah, I-I believe in you, Nico.”

“Pfft, way to sound convincing,” Piper laughed, but Nico’s glare intensified. He made his motions more animated, moving his whole body instead of just his arms, and finally, the water started to bend to his will. “Nico, you did it! You’re waterbending!”

Nico froze in shock, arms going rigid, and the water rushed away. “I was? I-I was!” he broke out into a grin, glancing at Piper before turning to look at Will, who was staring out at the ocean, not even paying any attention to him. Nico’s shoulders drooped as he looked back at Piper for instruction.

“Alright, we’re gonna try something else now,” she told him, drawing up a small ball of water and holding it above her palms. “I’m going to hand this to you, and all you need to do is hold it. Simple, right?”

Nico held out his hands. Piper stepped closer, holding her hands just above Nico’s before pulling them to the side. “I’m going to let it go, now,” she told him, and dropped the water all over Nico’s hands.

Nico huffed. “I-I wasn’t ready,” he said, shaking the water off his hands before holding them out again. “Try again.” Piper summoned up another ball of water, holding it out for him before letting it fall again, this time onto Nico’s shoes. Nico growled. “I can do this. Again.”

Piper bent another ball of water out of the ocean, again and again and again, until Nico became so angry that the water began to turn to steam in his hands. He shot a fireball out into the ocean with a shout.

“It’s okay, Nico,” Piper told him. “Let’s take a break for now and try again later, yeah?”

Nico sighed, clearly wanting to try again, but slowly nodded and stomped away toward the fire pit.

Piper crossed her arms and looked to Will, who was still sitting under the tree. “You and I have a conversation to finish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whatever could will and piper be talking about??
> 
> im real hype for that eclipse guys if only i didnt live in the woods then maybe i would be able to see it
> 
> thanks for reading!!


	11. Part Two: Water; Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i now live in a different timezone for college and COMPLETELY FORGOT to post this yesterday bc i was moving rip me here it is almost 2 days late sorry
> 
> ((heck yeah 5 minutes before midnight))

Training continued to be as difficult as it had been. All of the progress Nico had made on the first day seemed to vanish overnight, which only lead to make him more frustrated. They’d been lucky enough to move on to something new after lunch, after having spent the first half of the day reviewing the previous day’s lesson.

Nico thought that maybe he’d been doing better that day because Will wasn’t there watching him, but he’d followed Piper and him to the beach after lunch.

Nico wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He wanted Will around, of course he did, but he wanted Will to  _ like him, _  too.

“Alright, Nico,” Piper said loudly, startling Nico out of his thoughts. “Shoes off, we had a deal, we’re getting in the water.”

Nico leaned against a tree to pull his shoes off, placing them in a small spot of grass to hopefully avoid filling them with sand, before stepping into the tide. 

“It’s a good thing you’re here today, Will,” Piper said, maybe a little too sweetly. “If anyone’s going to get hurt during these lessons, it’ll be today, so you’re going to need to keep a close eye out, just in case.” She moved to stand opposite Nico in the water before he turned back to Will suddenly. “Oh! And if you happen to see anything wrong with Nico’s stance or form, feel free to correct him. You’re a waterbender too, don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

“Sure, Piper,” Will said, and Nico had to fight not to look in his direction.

It was a good thing he’d kept his eyes on Piper, too, because suddenly she’d pulled a series of tendrils out of the water, surrounding her like tentacles. 

“Nico, you need to copy this move,” Piper told him. “It’s called the octopus. You’re going to summon eight tentacles of water to use to defend yourself, got it?”

Nico winced, watching the water move around Piper like it was a part of her, and fearing that he wouldn’t be able to accomplish  _ half _ of it. “Yeah, got it,” he said, doubting she believed his words. 

He raised his arms, able to summon up eight tentacles after a moment, though he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to control all of them at once.

“Ready?” Piper asked him, dropping her octopus form.

“Sure,” Nico answered, and braced himself.

Piper summoned up a ball of water, freezing it to ice in her palm, before throwing it at Nico. He bent the tentacles to block its path, but the ice broke straight through the water, hitting hard into Nico’s stomach and knocking him back into the water.

Will rushed forward, but held himself a few feet away from him. “Nico, are you okay?” he asked, voice filled with worry.

“Fine,” Nico groaned as he rose to his feet. “Just give me a second.” He walked to the shore, right past Will (while barely glancing at him, he was a little bit proud of himself) and over to the tree where he’d left his shoes. He unbuttoned his vest, removing it, before doing the same with his shirt. He hung them over a low hanging tree branch to dry.

He missed the look on Will’s face when he returned to the water (though Piper didn’t), and moved back into position. “Again,” he said to Piper, and bent the water around him faster than he had the first time. 

Piper’s eyes flicked over to Will’s for a barely noticeable second, before they were back to Nico. She struck again, but it had the same effect as the last one. Nico fell back into the water once again, now with twin reddening marks on his stomach and the lower part of his ribcage.

He was back on his feet again before either Piper or Will could react, reforming the octopus around him. He noticed Piper’s eyes flicking to Will’s again, and the water around him fell without his willing.

He felt Will standing behind him, hands laying softly on his waist and one of his feet nudging Nico’s. “Widen your stance,” Will said softly in his ear. “Keep your elbows in, it’ll protect your core.” He didn’t move until Nico brought his arms closer to his chest. “Good,” Will told him, and when Nico glanced over his shoulder, Will was smiling at him.

Nico cleared his throat. “Thanks.” He rolled his shoulders and Will moved back, returning to the sand of the beach, and Nico summoned the octopus form again.

 

Nico ended the lesson with more bruises than he’d ever had on his body at one time, and Will had insisted on treating them immediately, dragging Nico back to his shack where he had a stash of fresh water. Nico, of course, had insisted on putting his shirts back on before walking around where others could see him, even after Will had told him he’d have to remove them again in a minute. 

Nico lit a few candles once they were inside, so that Will could see where the bruises were. He stood with his fingers curled in the bottom hem of his shirt when Will turned around with the canteen of fresh water. 

“What, you’re shy now?” Will joked, but he saw Nico’s cheeks pink. He was pointedly looking to the side and not at Will.

_"No,"_  Nico told him, fingers fidgeting. “There’s a difference between training in the water and being alone in a small space with the person you-- Another person.”

Will cracked a smile. “So I’m just  _ another person _ now, huh?” He seemed to think it was a joke.

“Will,” Nico said in a pained voice.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Will said softly. “But you do need to take that off so I can heal you. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Will was pretty sure that Nico’s face was redder after the shirts were off than it was before. He drew some water out of the canteen and held his hand over one of the bruises. He felt Nico’s muscles tense under his hand.

“You did really well today,” Will told him quietly, eyes focused on his work while Nico’s finally strayed to look at him. “I could tell that you improved from yesterday.”

“Is that what the bruises tell you?” Nico muttered bitterly.

Will grinned. “I meant that you didn’t get so frustrated that you roasted a fish.” He glanced up just as Nico turned his head away, though he couldn’t quite hide the faint smile on his lips. “I mean it,” Will said again, “you’re really improving.”

“Thank you, Will,” Nico said, and Will moved on to the next bruise.

 

Nico figured he must’ve been hit in the back at some point and hadn’t realized, because he couldn’t find a comfortable way to lay down that night, without feeling a pain in his muscles. Maybe it was overexertion, and not a bruise, but Nico had tossed and turned for at least an hour without any luck of falling asleep.

He flopped onto his back for about the tenth time, glaring angrily at the roof of his tent, and huffed. He closed his eyes, trying one last time to fall asleep, and the flap of his tent opened. Nico propped himself up on an elbow, igniting a flame in his hand in case he needed to attack, but the flame only succeeded in lighting up the face of his intruder.

Nico rubbed at his eyes. “Will? What are you doing?”

Will entered the tent fully, letting the flap close behind him, and ended up kneeling with his legs pressed against Nico’s. “This is, uh, a lot smaller than it looks,” Will said instead of giving an answer.

Nico reached behind himself, lighting a couple of candles and letting the flame in his hand extinguish. He held himself up on his elbows, eyes watching the reflection of the flames in Will’s. “Why are you here?” Nico tried again.

“I’m sorry,” Will said, which was the last thing Nico expected to hear. Will dropped his eyes down to his lap and picked at his fingernails. “I haven’t been treating you the way I should for the last couple days, and I’m sorry for that.” His eyes met Nico’s again. “I like you, Nico. I do, and I don’t know how I forgot that.”

Nico moved to rest his weight on his hands, holding himself up closer to Will. “You do?”

Will nodded, face breaking out into a wide smile. “I do. I like you, Nico, and I-- I, um.”

“You...?” Nico prompted, tilting his head to the side, and Will’s resolve broke, reaching out a hand to cup Nico’s cheek.

“I really wanna kiss you,” Will told him, leaning closer but clearly holding himself back until he had permission.

Nico’s eyes widened, and he paused. Will’s thumb stroked his cheek, and Nico said, “Okay.”

Will surged forward, pressing his lips to Nico’s and squishing their noses together until he corrected the angle. He kissed him, and started to pull back before changing his mind and going in for another kiss, only stopping when he remembered the need to breathe.

Will pulled himself back finally, and Nico’s head ducked between them. Will would’ve been a little concerned if he couldn’t feel Nico’s smile against his hand. He pulled Nico’s head up, resting their foreheads together and brushing their noses. 

“You’re adorable,” Will told him.

“I’m  _ not," _  Nico argued, but his smile remained brighter than the candles around them.  _ Adorable. _

Will kissed him again, Nico bringing a hand up to rest against Will’s neck, and pulled away after a short moment. 

“Have you...done this before?” Nico asked, smile finally dimming slightly. 

“Once,” Will answered. “I didn’t like them as much as I like you, though. Have you?” Nico shook his head, and Will’s smile grew. “Lucky me.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because that means I get to be the first to do this,” Will told him, leaning forward to press his lips to Nico’s licking his tongue across the seam of Nico’s lips. “And this.” He dragged his lips across Nico’s cheek until they met the corner of his jaw, and kissed down his neck. “And this.” He threw one of his legs over Nico’s so he was straddling Nico’s knees, and pressed Nico back until he was laying his head down on his pillow. Will locked his lips with Nico’s again, dropping down slowly until his body covered Nico’s completely. “If you want to stop, just tell me,” Will said against Nico’s lips.

Nico wrapped an arm around Will’s neck, holding him close. “Not yet,” he said, breathlessly. “Not yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey look the angst is gone 
> 
> i hope this was worth the slightly extra wait sorry again but thanks for reading!!!


	12. Part Two: Water; Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally written in two parts but the first part was like literally only a few hundred words so thats not long enough so heres two chapters basically  
> happy labor day!!! why does labor look like its spelled wrong,,,,, anyway,,,,,,,,

Nico woke up to find out he’d been using Will’s chest as a pillow. At any other time, Nico would’ve shot back from him and moved to the opposite side of the room, but he remembered that he was still in a very small tent with fabric walls that could rip or collapse with too much pressure.

So he mostly stayed where he was, only trying to pull away slightly until Will shifted, and Nico was afraid that any more movement would wake him. He tried to keep himself calm and wait patiently until Will woke up, but he felt a shock of discomfort every time Will so much as twitched in his sleep.

Eventually, Nico couldn’t take it anymore. He sat up completely, doing his best to ignore whether or not he’d woken Will with his sudden movements, and crawled away to sit by Will’s feet.

Will had, in fact, been woken up, and seemed very startled. “Nico?” he asked sleepily, rubbing at one of his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Is everything okay?”

“You shouldn’t have slept here,” Nico told him. “It’s frowned upon.”

Will sat up fully, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his ankles. “What do you mean?”

Nico frowned. “What do I mean? Is sharing a bed with a person you’re not married to  _ not _ a social taboo?”

“It’s not like we had sex,” Will said. “We fell asleep, so what?”

“That doesn’t happen in the Fire Nation,” Nico told him. “You don’t share a bed before marriage. You can live together, you can sleep in the same  _ room, _  but not the same  _ bed. _  Doesn’t the water tribe have a similar custom?”

“Well, yeah,” Will answered. “No sex before marriage, but honestly? It’s really cold at the North Pole. People tend to share beds all the time. If I’d known, Nico, I would’ve made sure to leave before we fell asleep. I’m sorry.”

Nico took a breath. “It’s...okay. You’re right, it’s not like anything happened. I overreacted, I’m sorry.”

“No, Nico,” Will said, reaching out and taking one of Nico’s hands in his own. “Don’t apologize, you didn’t overreact.” He brought Nico’s hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss into his palm. “Of course, if it’s that big of a deal, we could just get married.”

Nico’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I’m kidding,” Will told him, leaning in to kiss his lips. “For now, at least.”

He moved back, picking up his shoes, and was out of the tent before Nico could react. 

 

* * *

 

 

Nico’s training continued on. He worked with Piper around planned vacations off the island with Will, and unplanned distractions (also in the form of Will). His waterbending skills progressed at a constant rate, and he seemed much better after he and Will got together. That probably had absolutely nothing to do with Will pressing himself against Nico’s back and moving their arms together to explain a certain technique, but Will liked to think it did.

It was rather often that Will and Nico ventured off the island. They were never gone for long, and never stayed in one place for more than a day. Most of the time, they would simply head to a market for supplies and return to Ogygia immediately. 

One day, Will bought a few small supplies from a water tribe vendor while Nico wasn’t looking: a small, circular blue stone; a length of ribbon; and a little set of carving utensils. He stuffed everything away in his bag before Nico noticed.

Around this same time, back on Ogygia, Will had been having a hard time finding time alone. Nico had started sleeping in his shack, and they always ate every meal together. It was a few days after their most recent supply run that Will had discovered that distracting Nico too much during during a lesson was cause for Piper to force him to leave. After that, he tried to be as flirty-disgusting-gross with Nico as much as possible early on in the day, just so that Piper would kick him out. 

It was the perfect opportunity to get to work. He returned to his shack, attached the stone to the length of ribbon, and set to carving.

* * *

 

 

Nico returned from training earlier than Will had expected, which startled the healer, who barely had enough time to hide his project. Nico practically threw himself into Will’s lap, tucking his head under Will’s chin and wrapping his arms around Will’s back.

“You’re soaking wet!” Will exclaimed, pushing at Nico’s legs.

Nico hummed, rubbing his wet hair against Will’s bare neck. “Is that a problem?” he asked innocently. 

“Yes!” Will told him, cracking a smile. “Get off of me!”

“If you love me, you’ll let me stay,” Nico said, tipping his head until they were looking at each other. “And warm me up, too.”

“If  _ you _ love  _ me," _  Will countered, “you’ll change your clothes and  _ then _ I can warm you up.”

Nico pouted, but rolled off of Will’s lap anyway. “I can’t believe you don’t love me as much as I love you,” Nico complained sarcastically as he made his way over to small bag of clothes he had. 

“Excuse me?” Will hurried to get an arm around Nico’s waist, pressing a flat hand against the bare skin of Nico’s stomach. Nico gasped, still startled by most instances of physical contact. “You think  _ you _ love  _ me _ more?”

Nico’s head lolled back to look at Will. “I thought you wanted me to change.”

Will huffed, falling back to where he had been sitting. “Alright, fine, I’ll just sit back here, wishing my boyfriend loved me more.”

Nico pulled his shirt over his head and threw it at Will’s face. When Will pulled the fabric from over his eyes, he gave Nico a shocked expression. Nico smiled at him over his shoulder. “Can you hang that up to dry for me?”

Will rolled his eyes, trying to keep from blatantly ogling Nico’s shirtless form. “Well if I’m going to do that, I might as well take your pants, too.” Just seconds after Will had finished speaking, another piece of wet fabric made contact with his face, and Will was almost too stunned to move. 

By the time Will pulled -  _ yep, _  those were Nico’s pants - away from his face, his boyfriend had already pulled on his red sleep pants. Will had a feeling his face was just about the same color.

“Uh, yeah, I’ll be right back,” Will said, scrambling to get outside. He hung Nico’s clothes over a nearby tree branch before heading back into the shack. 

* * *

 

 

Will finished his project in a few days. The necklace’s pendant was carved with dark, swirling designs, and Will couldn’t wait to see Nico’s reaction.

He knew he needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to give the necklace to him, and when Nico entered the shack one night, clothes actually dry for once and smile wide and bright on his lips, Will knew that tonight was the night.

“What’s got you all smiley?” Will asked as Nico dropped himself into Will’s lap.

Nico wound his arms around Will’s neck. “I finished my training,” he said.

“Really?” Will said, smile almost matching Nico’s. His hands moved to rest on Nico’s waist, fingertips slipping under the hem of his shirt.

“Piper said I’m officially a waterbending master,” Nico told him.

“That’s amazing,” Will said, and tipped his head to press his lips to Nico’s. “You’re amazing.”

Nico’s ducked his head, but the smile remained. “Shut up.”

“You  _ are," _  Will insisted. He lifted a hand to Nico’s cheek, tipping his head back to look in his eyes. “I have something for you,” he said, before he’d even decided to do so.

“You do?” Nico asked, surprised. “Will, you don’t have to get me anything.”

“I do,” Will told him, reaching over to pull the gift out of his bag. Nico’s head turned to look, but Will pulled him back. “Eyes on me.” Nico’s face flushed, but his eyes stayed locked on Will’s, even when Will pulled the necklace out of his bag. 

Will pulled Nico in for another kiss. “You know I love you, right?” Will mumbled against Nico’s lips.

“I love you too,” Nico told him, head tipping in confusion, “but what does that have to do with anything?”

Will laughed softly. “Remember how I told you that I was engaged? And that I ran away before the wedding because I didn’t love her?”

Nico nodded. “Because you don’t even like girls.”

“Exactly,” Will said. “But I  _ do _ love  _ you." _

Nico rolled his eyes. _"Yes,_  we’ve been over that.”

_"So,"_  Will continued, “when you love someone,  _ usually _ you marry them.”

“Marry--?” Nico repeated, eyes widening.

Will held up the necklace for Nico to see. “Will you marry me?”

Nico’s eyes flickered from Will’s to the necklace in his hand, and back again, jaw dropping open. “You want-- Me? Marry me?”

“I’ve never wanted anything more,” Will told him.

Nico’s eyes dropped to the necklace, reaching out and rubbing his thumb across the pendant and feeling the shallow grooves. “You made this for me.”

“I did.”

“Because you want to marry me.”

“I do.”

Nico was frozen. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening. He stared down at the necklace for a least a full minute before he pushing it into Will’s chest. “I can’t.”

Will’s face fell, and his hands dropping to his lap. “Oh. Okay.” He fidgeted with the necklace, gaze dropping downward as Nico started to pull himself off of Will’s lap. “Can you tell me why?”

Nico settled back down. “I’m only sixteen, Will. You’re the first person I’ve ever even  _ dated, _  and I don’t know what I’m  _ doing." _

“I’m only eighteen, and I should’ve been married two years ago,” Will reminded him. “I’m not saying that we have to get married right now, I just want you to know how much I love you. I want  _ everyone _ to know.” He held the necklace out, placing it in Nico’s hand. “We don’t have to do anything now. You can take all the time you need, but  _ please, _  think it through. This is yours - you can wear it or not, but it’s yours.”

Nico held the necklace close to his face to get a better look, running his finger along the swirling grooves. “Can you...help me put it on?”

Will’s smile returned, about half as bright as it had been before. “Of course,” he said softly, taking the necklace out of Nico’s hands and looping it around his neck. It rested just at the base of his neck, almost hidden behind the high collar of his shirt. Will let his fingers brush against the bare skin of Nico’s neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Nico replied, leaning forward until he was resting against Will’s chest, head tucked against his neck.

“You’ll think about it?” Will asked, arms wrapping around Nico’s back. One of his hands smoothed up and down his spine.

“I will,” Nico promised, and Will felt his lips brush against his neck as he spoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lets pretend that like a frick ton of time passed during this chapter bc otherwise that would have been a whole lot of relationship developing in a very short amount of time ok cool  
> thanks for reading!!!!


	13. Part Two: Water; Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy oh boy u guys this is the chapter that inspired the WHOLE FRICKEN THING lets go

Nico fell asleep wearing the betrothal necklace and one of Will’s shirts. When he opened his eyes the next morning, Will was there watching him, a soft smile adorning his face. There was a significant amount of space between them, which Nico greatly appreciated, and Will had to scooch himself across the ground to be close enough to press a kiss to Nico’s lips.

“Good morning, my prince,” Will said quietly.

Nico placed a hand on Will’s cheek. “I’m not a prince anymore, Will, and I don’t ever want to be again. Please don’t call me something I’m not.”

“Of course, I’m sorry,” Will told him. “I’ve just been trying to think of a nickname for you, and I thought that  _ my fiance _ is probably too forward.” The smile dropped from his lips, eyes widening as he realized what he’d just said. “And...possibly inaccurate?”

Nico grinned, thumb beginning to stroke gently across Will’s cheek. “You’re right, it’s a bit too forward, especially since we haven’t informed anyone yet. That’d be an interesting way for my sister to find out that we’re getting married.”

“So you’ve thought about it, then?” Will asked, smile slowly blooming once again. 

“Yeah, I have,” Nico told him, drawing Will closer for a kiss. “I’d love to marry you.”

“Good,” Will breathed out. “That’s good.”

Nico sat up, stretching his arms up over his head. “Well, I need to get changed so I can go find Frank and ask about earthbending lessons.”

Will rolled onto his back. “But you look so good in my shirt,” he stated.

Nico turned away, but Will could still see the blush rising on his neck. Nico reached for the clothes he kept against the opposite wall of the shack, removing Will’s shirt and tossing it in his direction before pulling on his own.

Will pulled his own shirt on over his head as he sat up. He reached out for Nico, wrapping an arm around his waist and holding him close. “The necklace is a pretty good look on you, too.” He pressed a kiss to the skin of Nico’s throat, just above the pendant of the necklace.

“Will,” Nico started, hands resting on his shoulders and pushing him back slightly. “I don’t want to tell everyone, not right away, at least. I want to tell Hazel first, separate. She deserves better than being told with the rest of the group.”

“Of course,” Will agreed. “However you want to do it.  _ But _ I do think there’s something we should do before you start your earthbending training, since you mentioned it earlier.”

“Something  _ besides _ telling Hazel?” Nico asked.

“Something more like us going somewhere,” Will suggested. “Just a day trip off the island, think of it like a...date.”

“Now that we’re engaged, you’re finally taking me on a date?” Nico said with a laugh.

“I’ve taken you places before,” Will defended himself. “They just haven’t always been the best places to go. But this time, we won’t be gone long enough for anything bad to happen. We’ll be back here before the sun even begins to set.”

“You have someplace in mind, then?” Nico asked, more like a statement than a question.

“Perhaps. Do you wanna go?”

Nico hesitated for half a moment before saying, “I’ll go anywhere with you.”

Will grinned, pressing a short kiss to Nico’s lips before releasing him. “How about you take a little while to talk to your sister, and I'll get the boat ready to leave.”

“Sounds good,” Nico said, reaching behind himself for his vest, pulling it on over his shirt and allowing the high collar to nearly cover the betrothal necklace completely. “I’ll meet you at the shore in half an hour?”

“Half an hour,” Will agreed with a smile, and Nico exited the shack.

Hazel wasn’t difficult to find, once again training with Frank in the clearing. When Nico finally stepped within hearing distance, he called out, “Hazel, can I speak with you for a moment?”

Hazel looked away from the boulder she was hovering about three feet off the ground, and let it drop after a second. She said a quick _be right back_ to Frank before jogging off in Nico’s direction. “What’s going on, Nico?”

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he started, and at Hazel’s concerned face, he quickly continued, “something good, I promise. It’s just, ah--” Nico glanced around them, making sure that no one was nearby to hear. When he decided it was safe, he whispered, “Will and I are getting married. We don’t know when, probably not anytime soon, but...it will happen eventually. We’re getting married.”

Hazel’s eyes widened and she was very quiet for a few seconds, long enough for Nico to grow worried. After a significant amount of time, Hazel wrapped him up in a hug, squeezing him tight enough that he struggled for breath. “Nico, I’m so happy for you!”

“You are?” Nico asked, voice strained from the hug. 

“Of course I am!” Hazel pulled herself back, hands still holding tightly to her brother’s arms. “This is amazing!”

“I’m glad you think so,” Nico breathed. “We’re, um, we’re going to go somewhere today. I don’t know where, yet, but there probably isn’t an island that Will hasn’t explored. He said we’ll be back by sundown, I think we’re going to tell everyone else then, but I wanted you to know first.”

Hazel smiled up at him. “Thank you, Nico, for sharing this with me. The two of you are perfect for each other, I know it. He’ll take the best care of you.”

Nico ducked his head. “I know he will.”

“Alright, one more hug and then I’ll let you leave,” Hazel demanded, pulling Nico close again, though not quite as long, this time.

When Nico pulled away, he remembered something. “Oh! And when I get back, I’ll need to start learning earthbending. I guess I’ll be joining you for training sessions with Frank every day.”

“I can’t wait for you to come back, then,” Hazel told him.

 

The island was west of Ogygia, though Nico wasn’t quite sure where. It was very small - he could almost see the ocean across the island from the docks - but it seemed like the perfect place for a person in hiding like himself. No way could a tiny place such as this have someone that would find him out.

It was almost midday by the time they arrived, and neither of them had eaten anything since dinner the night before, so their first stop was the single restaurant located almost at the center of the island. The food they ate was delicious, though it was very similar to the tastes that Nico associated with the Fire Nation, which made him a bit uncomfortable with how far west they were.

It wasn’t until they were out of the restaurant and walking around the town that the first problem arose. Will noticed a sort of bulletin board posted in the middle of one of the markets, which had a wanted poster of Nico front and center on the board. It looked brand new.

Will led Nico over to the bulletin board, trying to be sneaky when he hastily ripped down the poster and stuffed it in his bag, though most of the people around them probably could have easily noticed.

They started making their way back to the dock, neither of them wanting to remain in that town any longer, just to be safe, but as soon as they rounded a corner that would bring them to the main path back to the docks, Nico saw a Fire Nation soldier making their way toward them. 

“This way,” Nico hissed, pulling Will in the opposite direction. “Fire Nation soldier. I didn’t see any of their ships, I don’t know how they could be here--”

Will squeezed his hand. “It’s fine, Nico. We’re gonna be okay. This island’s not that big, we’ll get back to the docks in no time.”

Nico took a calming breath, closing his eyes for a second until he heard voices ahead of them. His eyes shot open, immediately spotting a pair of soldiers heading in their direction. Nico pulled Will into an alley off the path.

“There’s more,” Nico said frantically. “There’s two more of them. They’re gonna find me, Will, there’s no way we can get around them. I can’t go back, Will, what are we gonna do?”

Will grabbed Nico’s hands in his own, holding them tightly as he started stepping forward, guiding Nico backward until his shoulders hit the side of a building. “Relax. I’m going to hide you in plain sight, okay?” He let go of one of Nico’s hands, reaching up to cup Nico’s cheek. “I’m going to kiss you, and I’m going to get very close, and I’ll hide you. Those soldiers will walk right past us, because nobody cares about a couple of kids kissing in an alley. They’ll walk past, and they won’t even notice when we go for the docks. We’ll be fine, okay?”

Nico nodded, though his eyes were still wide with fear. 

“I’ll protect you,” Will promised, stepping closer and tilting Nico’s face up toward his. He continued until he was pressing Nico back into the wall, their lips brushing as Will said, “I’ll keep you safe,” and then he kissed him fully.

The soldiers walked up to the entrance to the alley, looking as though they would walk right past, but one stopped, turning to shout down the alley. “Hey,” he started, “you kids shouldn’t be down here. You have homes, don’t you? It’s safer there, get back inside. Hey, did you hear me?”

Will pulled himself back, pulling Nico’s head to rest against his shoulder so that his face was still hidden from the soldiers. “Uh, y-yeah! Thank you, we’ll head home now. Uh, sorry.”

“Before you go,” the soldier continued, stepping toward them, “we’d like you to look at something for us.” He unrolled a piece of paper that he held in his hand, revealing a wanted poster with Nico’s face on it. “Have you seen this boy?”

Will made it look like he was studying the poster, not like he hadn’t already memorized the face in the drawing. “Uh, no, I don’t think I have.”

The soldier gestured to Nico, whose face was still tucked against Will’s chest. “What about him?”

Will threaded his fingers through Nico’s hair, glancing down at him for a second. “He’s, uh, he’s shy, sorry.” Will was sure that Nico could feel the pounding of his heart, and it probably didn’t help to calm him down at all. “If I haven’t seen that guy, then I’m sure he hasn’t, either.”

“We would still like a confirmation,” the soldier insisted.

Will’s breath hitched, and through the fear, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Please, sir, nobody can know about our relationship. His parents don’t approve of it, if anyone finds out that we’re together, we’ll never get to see each other again, can you please just...let us go?”

The other soldier stepped forward. “Not until he looks at the poster, you disgusting homosexual,” the man spit.

The first soldier elbowed him roughly. “There’s different rules for these things outside of the Fire Nation, man, leave them be.”

The second soldier huffed, but stayed silent.

“Just look at the poster and you can go,” the soldier told them.

Will tilted his head down, his lips brushing against Nico’s ear as he whispered, “Run, I can hold them off.”

Nico shook his head, fists tightening in the front of Will’s shirt.

_ “Please,” _ Will begged. 

Nico’s hands released their grip, slowly pushing Will back, looking up at him with red-rimmed eyes. “I’m sorry,” Nico whispered before shoving Will away and shooting fire from his hands at the soldiers. He took a second to glance in Will’s direction. “Go!”

“No, not without you,” Will told him. He looked around frantically before spotting a small puddle in the side of the road. He bent the water off the ground, throwing it at one of the soldiers and freezing the man in place. “Come on!”

“Will, please,” Nico whispered, but Will grabbed one of Nico’s hands and pulled him behind himself. Will pulled his canteen from his bag, using up the last of his healing water to freeze the other soldier where he stood.

“Nico, let’s  _ go,” _ Will insisted, taking hold of Nico’s hand once more and pulling him out of the alley and dragging him around the corner. 

They thought they were clear when they finally made it onto the main path, but just before the docks were in sight, three more guards appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“It’s the prince!” one of them shouted before they all began advancing on them.

“Oh no,” Nico whispered, hand tightening around Will’s. “No, no, nonono--”

“This way,” Will said, tugging him down another alley.

“Will, we have to stop,” Nico started. “We’re not gonna make it, they’re gonna catch us, you have to get away from me--”

“Stop it,” Will demanded. “We’ll be fine, we’re almost at the docks, we’re  _ fine.” _

“There he is!” someone shouted from behind them, and Nico turned to see the three soldiers from before advancing toward them.

“Over here,” Will said, rushing toward a side exit to the alley. Nico slipped his hand out of Will’s grasp, spinning around to shoot flames at the soldiers. When he turned back, he moved so fast that he tripped himself up, losing his balance and falling forward. “Nico--”

“Run!” Nico shouted after him, struggling to get back to his feet. “Don’t worry about me, just please,  _ go.” _

“I can’t leave you,” Will insisted, backtracking and reaching for Nico’s hand just as a soldier wrapped an arm around Nico’s midsection, holding him back and physically lifting him off the ground. “No!” Will cried.

“Get out of here!” Nico shouted, clawing at the soldier’s arm and kicking his legs like crazy. He pushed his hands out in front of him, willing the air currents to push Will into motion, forcing him to finally move away.

Will stumbled backward, unable to take his eyes off his fiance as Nico struggled against the hold he was in. “I-I love you,” Will said softly, still moving away.

Nico had tears streaming down his cheeks.  _ “Run, _ already!”

Will turned and ran, feeling a push of air on his back before hearing the roar of fire. There was a shout of, “His hands! Tie his hands!” before of the fire dissipated. 

Will ran and ran, unsure of which direction he was headed, unsure of how he got so incredibly turned around. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of running, he found the docks again. He practically dove into his boat, sailing out onto the water, unable to comprehend the direction he was headed, simply letting the current carry him away.

He curled into a ball, sobbing quietly as his boat rocked gently with the waves.

 

Will was still crying when he returned to Ogygia. He never really knew how he could always make it back to that island without fail, but he had never been happier for the fact - not that he could even remotely consider himself happy at that point.

He stumbled ashore, seeing the smoke of the evening’s campfire rising above the trees and heading in that direction. He felt as though he might collapse as soon as he saw all of his friends circled around the fire, laughing and enjoying themselves. He knew he would ruin their night, but he had no choice other than to continue forward. 

Will dropped to his knees at an open space in the circle. “Will?” he heard Annabeth call from across the circle.

“Will, what’s wrong?” Piper asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Where’s… Where’s Nico?”

Will choked back a sob, unable to get the words out. He heard Hazel gasp from off to his side, and glanced up in time to see her collapse into Frank’s arms. Will reached into his bag, pulling out the crumpled up wanted poster and holding it out for someone to take. Jason took the paper from his hands, reading it aloud. A hush fell over the circle, only broken by Will’s and Hazel’s sobs.

“Fire Nation soldiers,” Will finally managed. “They took him. The Fire Nation took him back. He’s back in the Fire Nation, he’s--” Will hung his head. “He’s the prince. He didn’t want anyone to know. A-and he didn’t want-- He didn’t want to go back. We were gonna get married. I love him and we were gonna get married, and now I’m never gonna see him again.”

Piper pulled Will closer, holding him tight and comforting him as best she could.

“I tried to save him,” Will whispered. “I told him I would protect him and I  _ couldn’t, _ and now he’s  _ gone. _ We were gonna get  _ married _ but now he’s  _ gone.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Part Two  
> thanks for reading!!!!


	14. Part Three: Fire; Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is a super early morning update bc i dont wanna get up for class  
> enjoy,,,,,,,,,, maybe,,,,,,,,,,,,
> 
>    
> note the tag changes  
> warnings: abuse, self harm, and attempted suicide

Nico was held below deck on the Fire Nation soldiers’ ship. The room was dark, so much so that he couldn’t see if he waved his own hand in front of his face - not that he could do so in the first place. His wrists were bound together and his hands were wrapped in some kind of foil. The soldiers that had captured him had warned him that the foil would deflect any attempt at firebending back at him, and that there would be a good chance that he would lose his hands if he tried anything. Nico hadn’t really believed them - such a flimsy piece of metal would more likely melt under heat - but he didn’t want to risk his hands, either.

The ship docked after just a few hours. When Nico was ushered onto the deck, the sun was just beginning to set behind the volcanoes that Nico had hoped to never see again. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger - how could Will  _ knowingly _ take him someplace so close to the Fire Nation border? How could he be so  _ stupid? _ \- but the feeling melted away almost instantly, turning instead to guilt and dread.

He felt a rough push against his shoulders, and then he was led back onto the black sand of the Fire Nation shore.

Nico had expected to be paraded through the center of the city, up to the palace gates, having people gawk at him like some kind of circus freak - the runaway prince, returned like a prisoner, practically  _ naked _ compared to how the public had seen him before - but he was instead guided into an underground tunnel, one that he’d heard earthbenders had built for the soldiers to use to get from one place to another without having to fight through the crowds of the city. Nico remembered being told that the earthbenders had been promised a reward for their services, but had instead been imprisoned as soon as the tunnels were completed. Now the Fire Lord only kept a specialized guard of metalbenders, but Nico wondered for the first time, as he was led deeper and deeper into the underground maze, if Hazel’s mother had built any of these tunnels.

The sun would’ve been blinding after the darkness of the tunnel, if not for the fact that it had almost entirely set by the time they reemerged from the ground. It took Nico longer that it should have to realize where they’d come out, but as soon as he did, he felt his knees weaken with fear.

They’d appeared just outside the palace doors.

If not for the frequent shoves against his back, Nico would’ve been frozen in place. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt such fear. Sure, only hours before as he and Will ran for their lives from the soldiers, he’d been very afraid, but then, he’d still had hope for escape. Here-- He’d already escaped from this place once - which had been more exhilarating than terrifying - but there was no way his father would allow another attempt. He was trapped, now. Probably for as long as he lived - which, with how angry he assumed his father was, most likely wouldn’t be very much longer.

 

Nico was thrown onto the ground at the foot of his father’s throne. He pressed his forehead against the ground, struggling to force his features into a neutral expression before he could truly face his father.

“The prince has been returned, Fire Lord,” one of the soldiers said as they knelt before the throne.

“I see,” the Fire Lord said calmly, before calling out, “Leave us!”

The soldiers hurried to their feet, and were out of the room with the door closed behind them before Nico could raise his head from the ground.

He heard footsteps before him, the soft rustling of fabric as his father crouched down before him. “Look at me, boy.”

“No,” Nico breathed out. Suddenly, he felt claw-like fingers scratching at his chin, dragging his face up until he was glaring into the eyes of his father.

“You dare disrespect me?” the Fire Lord asked.

“Why should I stop now?” Nico shot back, feeling a slight waver in his voice but remaining strong.

The nails in his chin removed themselves, and Nico had only a short second to feel surprised until an open hand slapped across his face. While Nico was still in shock from the hit, the Fire Lord wrapped his hands around Nico’s bare forearms, grip tightening until Nico felt like his bones were grinding together, and then the searing heat set in.

Nico bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain, but couldn’t prevent himself from shouting, “Father,  _ stop!” _ as he tried to tug his arms out of his father’s burning hands.

“Why should I stop now?” the Fire Lord spit at him, digging his nails into Nico’s skin.

Nico moved his feet out from under him, using as much force as possible to connect his foot to his father’s chest to send him backwards. As soon as his father’s grip released, Nico flipped onto his stomach, trying frantically to get his feet underneath himself to run away, but just before he managed, his father’s hand closed around his leg, burning into his skin once more.

Nico cried out in pain as his father dragged him back within reach, landing a single burning hand on the center of Nico’s back and scorching through his two layers of clothes to scar his skin.

The Fire Lord rose to his feet, stepping heavily on the newly-burnt hand print on Nico’s back and listening as his son cried out once more.

“You have not yet experienced pain, boy,” the Fire Lord hissed at him. “You have embarrassed me in front of the entire nation, you have disrespected me in my own home. This will not be taken lightly. You will  _ suffer _ for your actions.”

The Fire Lord returned to his throne, leaving Nico where he was on the ground, and called for the guards. “Get this disgrace out of my sight,” he told the guards when they entered. “I don’t want to see him again until he has a sense of respect in him. See to it that he finds that sense, even if it must be  _ beaten _ into him.”

 

* * *

 

 

“I have to find him,” Will sobbed. “I have to go look for him, I have to get him _ back.” _

Hazel tugged on Will’s arm. “Will, you can’t do that. There’s nothing that can be done for him. He--” Hazel loosened her grip, allowing her hand to slide down Will’s arm until she was gripping his hand. “He has to make it through this on his own.”

“There has to be something we can do,” Will whispered.

Hazel shook her head. “There’s nothing.”

 

* * *

 

 

Nico didn’t sleep. At least, he didn’t think so. He may have slipped into unconsciousness once or twice, but either way, there was no  _ rest.  _ After he was dragged from the throne room, he was beaten by three soldiers while his hands were still tied. He was tempted to try some kind of bending - his feet had never been tied, so he could’ve tried  _ something _ \- but he was too weak. He’d felt a sort of tug inside him, drawing him toward the Avatar state, but he didn’t want to risk revealing his powers, only to have them exploited by his father.

He wasn’t sure how long the beatings continued, but he was eventually taken away to a familiar bedroom and dropped onto the bed, hands still bound inside the strange foil. 

There was too much pressure against his injuries, regardless of the position he tried to lay, which resulted in him not sleeping a wink. 

He was given what would have been a rude awakening when a guard burst into his room, hoisting him out of his bed and announcing that it was time for his bath. Nico would’ve complained - couldn’t  _ he _ decide when he needed a bath? - but he really hadn’t had a proper bath since leaving the Fire Nation.

However, he would’ve prefered the salt water bath he got during his waterbending lessons to what he was given that morning.

His hands were finally released from their bonds, only to immediately be plunged under the hot water of his bath. There were three handmaidens bathing him, as there always had been for as long as he could remember, though they were unusually rough, scrubbing his skin raw and breaking open the wounds that had closed overnight. He felt as though he were being waterboarded when they went to wash his hair and face, and he knew for a fact that the water did  _ not _ need to be as hot as it was.

When he was finally released from the bath, he returned to his room to find a set of clothes laid out for him on the bed. Nico’s heart sank at the sight of the clothes. He’d hoped to never even  _ see _ those robes again, let alone have to wear them. They weren’t even his everyday robes, they were the  _ fancy _ ones, the ones he’d worn on his fifteenth birthday when he’d been coronated as the official heir to the throne. They’d been a little big, then, and he’d felt like a fool wearing them in front of the entire nation, but he supposed that, now, after more than a year, they’d probably fit him perfectly.

He took his time pulling the clothes on, glancing at his appearance in the full-length mirror against one wall, and dropping to his knees at the sight of himself. He choked back a sob, unable to prevent a few tears from slipping out of the corners of his eyes. He reached up to the base of his neck, feeling for the smooth stone, wanting to run his thumb along the grooves, but felt his heart stop when his hand came up empty. He shuffled closer to the mirror, clawing at the neckline of the robes, but his eyes landed on nothing but blank, pale skin.

“No,” he whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks. “No, nonono--”

There was a knock on the door, freezing Nico in place. His eyes drifted downward and his hands fells to his lap, fingers clutching at the fabric covering his legs. He heard the door swing open and shut again, then soft footsteps crossing the room, and suddenly a hand in his hair. He felt a brush yanking at his hair, ripping at the snarls until his hair was gathered at the back of his head. 

“So you thought you could abandon me in this hell hole?” a familiar voice sounded from behind him. 

Nico’s head snapped up, just long enough to see the reflection of a familiar face in the mirror in front of him, before his head was pushed back down. 

“Reyna,” Nico breathed. “I-- I need your help with something.”

“You’re asking for favors already?” Reyna snapped, and to anyone else she would’ve sounded furious. Nico, however, had known Reyna as long as she’d been in the private metalbending guard, and could recognize the subtle changes in her voice. She’d missed him, just like Reyna had been the one part of the Fire Nation that Nico hadn’t minded seeing again.

“I need my clothes,” he told her. “The ones I was wearing this morning, before that bath. There was something important with them, something I need to get back.”

“You’ll need to be more specific,” Reyna told him, tying his hair back. 

Nico took a breath, squeezing his eyes shut. “It’s a water tribe necklace. It’s important to me.”

He felt Reyna’s hands move away from his head, and he saw a flash of blue in the mirror. Nico reached over his shoulder, pulling the ribbon out of Reyna’s hand, and cradling it close to his chest. He started running his thumb along the grooves in the pendant, eyes slipping shut and breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Reyna.”

She moved around him to sit down in his line of sight. “Whose is it?”

Nico’s eyes cracked open, glancing over at his best friend with worry painted all over his face. “Mine.”

Reyna took a breath before saying calmly, “You were gone for a few months, and already you’re engaged?”

“To a water tribe boy,” Nico said with a sad smile. “How stupid could I be, right?”

_ "Really _ stupid, apparently,” Reyna responded. “You know you can’t wear it anymore, right?”

“Yeah,” Nico answered, “I know.”

 

Nico had hid the necklace underneath his pillows just before a couple of guards arrived at his door and took him away. He was led to the front of the palace, pushed toward the doors leading outside but, for once, was given his own space to walk through the doors. 

The sun was blinding. The noise was almost suffocating - cheering that surrounded him as soon as he stepped into the light. Once his eyes adjusted, his gaze fell on the crowd gathered in the courtyard in front of the palace. Nico almost flinched at the sight. He hadn’t seen a crowd like this since his coronation. What was happening? The only thing he could thing he could think of was a public execution -  _ his. _

The Fire Lord held out a hand in his direction, almost welcomingly, which didn’t help Nico in determining whether this was a good event or a bad one.

Nico stepped forward and the crowd started to quiet down. He moved to stand next to his father, making sure to keep about an arm’s length between them.

“Last night,” the Fire Lord called over the now-silent crowd, “my son was found and returned home.” He reached over, dropping a hand heavily onto Nico’s shoulder and digging his nails into the muscle. He pushed down against Nico’s shoulder until he was kneeling. “Please, join me in welcoming home my son,” Nico felt the crown of the prince being placed in his hair, being almost painfully reminded of his coronation, “Prince Nico!”

Nico was pulled back up to his feet, feeling his father’s claws attach to his shoulders once again. “Act happy,” his father hissed in his ear, “or you will face the wrath of disrespecting me again.”

Nico wondered how much better a public execution would have been.

 

* * *

 

 

“Can I ask you a favor?” Hazel asked one morning when Will was preparing his boat to leave.

“Are you going to ask me not to go?” Will asked, not looking up from where he was loading up the storage compartments of his boat.

“No,” Hazel answered, “I know nothing I say can stop you.”

Will glanced up. “Then what do you need?”

“Would you take me to Kyoshi? Bianca deserves to know what’s happened.”

 

* * *

 

Nico hoped that, maybe one of these times, one of the soldiers would slip up and kill him. He had tried, every night for a week, to escape, using different routes each time, ones that he’d planned with Hazel. Each night, he was caught, he was beaten, and he was returned to his room. Each night he made less and less progress out of the castle, and each night the abuse was worse.

One night, Nico checked his windows to see that they were barred. He tried to open his door only to find it locked from the outside. He stood in the center of his room and looked around for a second, considering his options, before deciding to take matters into his own hands.

Nico changed into his pajamas - similar clothes to what he wore on Ogygia - and pulled the necklace out from under his pillow. He pressed a kiss to the pendant before tying the ribbon around his neck, and reached for the drawer in his nightstand. Tucked away in the back was a small knife he’d smuggled away from dinner one night in the sleeve of his robe - possibly the one good thing to come out of those clothes.

He ran the flat side of the knife against his pant leg, wiping it down once, twice, running the sharp edge carefully along the pad of his index finger. 

He thought of his sisters; Bianca, who had talked her way out of the Fire Nation, who had found her place in the world away from everyone she’d ever known. Bianca, who had escaped without fear that she would ever be dragged back to their father in chains.

He thought of Hazel, who was free now. He’d helped her escape, and now she was safe from harm, free to be the amazing bender she was destined to be. She had met Frank, a great teacher and an ever greater person, and Nico hoped the two of them would be happy together, whether it be as friends or something more. 

He thought of Will. Everything he could remember - his smile, his laugh, his voice. The gentle feeling of his hands on him whenever they kissed. 

He would never see that smile again. He would never hear that voice or laugh, would never again feel Will’s hands on him, would never see the peaceful expression on Will’s face when he was asleep. 

He would never again see Hazel, his own sister. He would never get to see her wedding, would never meet his nieces or nephews. His only chance of ever seeing Bianca again would be if she was stupid enough to return to the Fire Nation, which he knew she would never do.

He would miss  _ everything. _ He would remain trapped, a prisoner in the Fire Nation, for the rest of his life. He was the most powerful person in the world, but in his situation, he was powerless.

Maybe the next Avatar would be more use to the world than him.

He drew the knife down his arm.

 

* * *

 

 

Bianca had been quiet. She refused to make eye contact with Will, eventually asking him to leave the room. As soon as he was gone, Bianca began throwing things - her gloves, her fans, her knives which embedded themselves in the wall. 

Hazel stilled Bianca’s arms, and pulled her sister close, wrapping her in a hug. She felt warm tears hitting her skin, Bianca’s shoulders shaking with sobs.

“He won’t survive there,” Bianca cried. 

“Will said he’s going to find him,” Hazel said. “He’s going to save him.”

Bianca pulled away, shaking her head and wiping at her tears. “He won’t even make it past the gates.”

 

* * *

 

Reyna had been on guard that night, was responsible for waking Nico in the morning and making sure he didn’t escape at any point in the night - not that he could, with the precautions she’s set up. She just hadn’t expected this... _ different _ kind of escape. 

The first thing she saw was the blood. The white sheets were stained dark red, almost black, and the skin of Nico’s arms was crusted over and brown from the dried blood.

The cuts weren’t deep, thankfully, but Nico had lost enough blood that he had fallen unconscious. 

Reyna rolled Nico onto his back, dislodging the knife from his grip as she did so. It was then that she noticed, against the whites and reds and blacks, the band of blue across Nico’s throat. It was then that Reyna realized that this wasn’t some kind of grab for attention, or even a cry for help. Nico had wanted to die, and he had gotten himself close.

Reyna removed the necklace, slipping it into her pocket, before rushing out of the room. She shouted down the hall, “Somebody call for a doctor!” before returning to Nico’s side.

When Nico awoke, he was weak and everything hurt. He was propped up in his bed, arms laid out at his sides, wrists pointing up toward the ceiling. Moving his head was difficult, but he managed to look down at his wrists - stitched closed, he could feel, and bandaged over.

He let his head fall back against the pillows with a groan.

“You’re an idiot,” Reyna said, voice rough. Nico glanced over to where she was sitting in a chair at his bedside, noticing the red rims around Reyna’s eyes.

“Are you--” Nico tried, though his voice didn’t seem to work. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Were you crying?”

“Shut up,” Reyna spit out, picking up a glass of water from the nightstand and holding it to Nico’s lips. “Drink.”

Nico took a few sips of water before gulping up half of the glass. When Reyna took the glass away, he asked, “What happened?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Reyna told him. 

Nico looked away. “I meant...after.”

“We got a doctor to stitch you up,” she answered quietly, “and somebody called for a healer, I think. You’re on bedrest until tomorrow morning at the earliest.”

Nico was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” Reyna told him.

“You’re right,” Nico whispered. “I’m not.”


	15. Part Three: Fire; Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i almost forgot to post this today but its cool i got it and also 25 more minutes before my laundry is done
> 
> also this chapter is almost 4k?? longest one yet possibly enjoy

Nico was strong enough, the next morning to walk around on his own. While this was true medically, Nico wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without guards. At this point, Nico had had too many failed escape attempts to be allowed to wander the palace grounds freely, and his most recent stunt had resulted in a twenty-four hour watch.

So when Nico wanted to walk around the courtyard, he did so with two armed guards. He wasn’t given the opportunity to speak with anyone, and the guards refused to acknowledge anything he said. The only person that had spoken to him since he woke up was Reyna, and even then, it was only when they were alone, as if everyone had been given orders not to speak with him at all.

Nico had given up trying to speak with the guards, had stopped trying to fake them out and run the other way just to get a second to himself. He had stopped...trying.

Ahead of himself, Nico could see another pair of guards coming toward him, leading another poor sucker like himself along, shoving him forward with every step. 

Nico lowered his eyes, knowing by now that nobody would speak to him even if he initiated conversation, so why bother trying in the first place? So he kept his eyes on the ground, shuffling along and expecting the other group to pass him by, but instead, they stopped directly in front of him.

Nico raised his eyes slowly, noticing first the familiar attire of a water tribe member, feeling his heart skip a beat at the sight of tan, freckled arms that looked  _ so similar to-- _

When Nico looked up to meet the other’s eye, he was already on the ground, kneeling before Nico. “Your highness,” he said in that voice that Nico didn’t think he’d ever hear again, “My name is Will Solace from the Northern Water Tribe. I’m a healer, I was brought here to help you.”

Nico felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Without taking his eyes off of the head of blond hair bowed at his feet, Nico said, “May we have a moment alone, please?”

None of the guards moved, as if Nico had never said a word. Will glanced up from the ground, assuring the guards that he could handle a moment alone with him. The guards moved slowly away, still within hearing distance and easily close enough to stop Nico if he tried to escape. 

Instead of escaping, however, Nico dropped to his knees. He cupped Will’s face in his hands, bringing him up until they were practically nose-to-nose. He stroked his thumb along Will’s cheek, staring deeply into the most beautiful eyes he thought he’d never see again.

“You never bow before me,” Nico told him softly, voice cracking, resting his forehead against Will’s. “Do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” Will whispered. “I’m so happy to hear you.”

 

The guards escorted them into the palace, up to Nico’s room. Two of the guards waited outside the closed door, and the other two stood inside the room. Will stared at them, as if waiting for them to leave, though they didn’t budge, didn’t even acknowledge when Nico ordered them out of the room. Finally, once Will insisted that he would be fine on his own, that he could keep an eye on Nico, the guards each nodded once and left.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Will surged forward, cupping Nico’s face in his hands and kissing him. “I missed you,” Will whispered against his lips. “I was so worried, I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

“No, Will, no,” Nico breathed. “It’s not your fault. I’m fine, now. You’re here.”

“I’m here,” Will assured him. “I’m here for you. For--” Will stepped back, eyes scanning Nico as if trying to find his injuries through the many layers of clothes. “They said you were hurt, what happened? How are you feeling right now?”

“I’m--” Nico searched Will’s eyes, as if trying to find some sign that this wasn’t a dream. “I hate it here,” he whispered. “They’re treating me like a prisoner, no one has even spoken to me in  _ days, _ it’s--” Nico sighed, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. “It’s really good to hear your voice.”

“Nico,” Will said, voice clear, drawing in Nico’s full attention. “They wouldn’t call for a healer if there wasn’t something wrong. Tell me what’s happened.  _ Please, _ we’re  _ engaged! _ You can’t keep secrets from your fiance!”

Nico watched as the worry in Will’s eyes melted into something else. A different kind of worry, something more sad than afraid, and he whispered, “We’re still engaged, right?”

“Yeah,” Nico told him. “Yes, yes, Will, of course we are.” He pulled back, stepping toward the bed and reaching under the pillows, drawing the necklace out from underneath. He returned to Will, placing the necklace in his hand. “I can’t wear it in front of anyway. I can’t risk someone seeing it and taking it away.”

Will gazed down at the necklace for a moment before reaching up to tie it at the base of Nico’s throat. He stepped closer, resting his forehead against Nico’s and pressing a gentle kiss to Nico’s lips. “Please, darling, tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

Nico closed his eyes, releasing all the air from his lungs before taking a single step back and unfastening the clasps on his robe, letting the fabric fall around his feet. “I’ll need help,” Nico muttered, “with the rest.”

Will helped Nico undress, removing everything except the shorts he wore underneath the final layer of robes. Will felt like he was going to be sick just by looking at Nico’s injuries. His skin was more purple than white, and the bandages lining Nico’s forearms caused Will’s heart to stop.

“Tell me what happened,” Will insisted.

“I was beaten,” Nico told him simply. “Any time I broke a rule, I was beaten. I-- I hoped they would kill me eventually, but they were taking too long, I-- I tried to speed up the process.” He rotated his wrists upward, trying to hold the injuries out to Will, but instead his fiance collapsed forward.

Will’s arms closed around him, holding him tight. “Please, Nico, please don’t do that again. I don’t want to see you hurt, I don’t want you to hurt  _ yourself, _ please.”

Nico nodded numbly. “I won’t, Will.”

Will pulled back after another few seconds, wiping the tears from his cheeks. “Okay. Okay, we need water.” He stepped back, wiping at his eyes once more and taking a calming breath, before walking over and opening the door. “I need cold, fresh water. A lot of it, the colder the better.”

He moved away, closing the door and returning to Nico’s side. He took one of Nico’s hands in his, pulling him toward the edge of the bed and sitting down. Will reached around his fiance, taking one of the blankets from the bed and wrapping it around Nico’s shoulders. “You looked cold,” he said simply, and Nico hugged the blanket tighter around himself.

Will leaned forward, resting his forehead against Nico’s and placing a hand on his leg. “You’re okay, right?” Will tried again. “You’d tell me if you weren’t? There’s...nothing else that you haven’t told me?”

“No, nothing else,” Nico promised. “I’m-- I’ll be okay.”

Will nodded, taking a second to appreciate the close proximity, before a knock sounded against the door. He got up quickly, accepting the large bowl of water handed to him by one of the guards, and kicked the door shut with his heel.

He placed the bowl on the floor next to the bed before sitting back down in front of Nico, taking one of his hands and pulling it out from under the blanket. Will peeled away the bandages on Nico’s forearm, dropping the bloodied fabric on the ground before drawing up a small ball of water from the bowl. “This will hurt,” Will warned him. “Probably a lot.”

“I can take it,” Nico told him, and Will encased his arm in water. Nico hissed at the contact, and bit back a cry of pain when the healing began.

“I’m sorry,” Will whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and relying on his senses to know when the wound was healed.

“Not your fault,” Nico told him, voice strained.

“It’s my fault you’re back here in the first place,” Will muttered, and Nico flinched, almost pulling his arm out of Will’s grasp.

“No, it’s not, Will,” Nico insisted. “I would’ve gotten caught eventually, it’s  _ not _ your fault.”

Will still looked like he wanted to argue, but he took a breath and said, “Okay.” He let the last of the water drip away, revealing an undamaged arm with a jagged line of stitches down the center. Will held the arm up, bringing it closer to himself, and pressed a kiss to Nico’s wrist. “Never again, okay?”

“Never again,” Nico promised.

Will lifted up Nico’s other arm, peeling off the bandages and repeating the process. He felt the fingers of Nico’s healed arm clutching at the front of his shirt as he worked, biting his tongue to refrain from apologizing again. It would only lead to more argument.

Once he was finished, Will took both of Nico’s hands in his, turning his wrists up to examine the lines of stitches that still remained. “I need scissors,” Will said. “Or a small knife. Something sharp.” He reached behind himself, opening the drawer to the nightstand to search for something he could use, but Nico tugged on his other hand.

“They took everything sharp,” Nico told him. “They thought I might try to kill myself again if I ever got the chance, so they took everything.”

Will nodded. “I’ll go...ask for something, then. Do you think they would give anything to _ me?” _

Nico hesitated before nodding. “They listen to you, so there’s a chance.”

“I’ll be right back, then.”

 

The healing process had never taken so much out of Will, but then again, he’d never had to heal so much at once. Nico was  _ covered _ in cuts and bruises, there were scars on his arms, one of his legs, and on his back that looked like handprints, like a firebender had grabbed and burned him with their bare hands.

By the time they had finished, Nico was practically asleep, the healing process having taken a lot out of him, too, and Will wanted nothing more than to join him on the big, soft bed, but he had a cover to keep. Besides, Nico probably still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of sleeping the same bed as another person.

Will cleaned up as best he could, throwing away the dirtied bandages and handing the now empty bowl to one of the guards outside. He returned to the bed where Nico had already curled up against the pillows, and sat down next to him. Will ran a hand through Nico’s hair, hearing a hum sound from his fiance as Nico’s eyes slipped shut. 

“I don’t know what happens now,” Will admitted quietly.

“Stay here,” Nico told him. Will started to protest, but Nico continued, “Tell them you need to. You have to watch out for more injuries overnight, or something. Make something up, tell them they’re not needed, and come back here.”

“You’re…” Will started, hand stilling in Nico’s hair. “Awfully coherent when you’re tired.”

“Only when I need to be,” Nico replied, turning his face into the pillow. “Now hurry.”

Will leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead before rising from the bed. He crossed to the door, made up some lie to the guards, and watched as they disappeared down the hall. He closed the door softly, a little surprised that the guards listened to him so easily, and returned to the bed.

“Now where am I supposed to sleep?” Will asked gently, brushing his fingers across Nico’s cheek.

“Where do you think?” Nico asked around a yawn.

“You’re not really gonna make me sleep on the floor,” Will complained.

Nico cracked a smile. “Of course not, stupid. This bed’s plenty big enough for the two of us.”

Will froze. “What-- Really? It’s not going to make you uncomfortable or anything?”

“There are only two people in this entire nation that I trust, Will,” Nico told him, sitting up slightly and reaching forward to cup Will’s cheek, “and you’re one of them.”

“You’re the only person in this nation that I trust, too, but I feel like the sentiment is different when I say it,” Will said, and Nico shoved him back. 

“Hurry up and get in bed, would you?” Nico told him. “I’d like to sleep for once.”

Will leaned down, unlacing his boots and leaving them at the side of the bed as he pulled the blankets back and slipped into bed next to his fiance. Will practically moaned at how comfortable the bed was, telling Nico, “I can’t believe you slept in beds like these for sixteen years, and chose to sleep on the ground with me.”

“It’s not like the nice beds outweigh everything else,” Nico responded. “Besides, I’d rather sleep on the ground for the rest of my life if it means that I’m with you.”

“That was the  _ sappiest _ thing you have ever said to me,” Will cooed, pulling Nico in for a kiss. “Probably the sappiest thing you’ve said  _ ever.” _

Nico shoved at Will’s chest. “I don’t remember why I missed you.”

“Because you love me,” Will reminded him, fingers wrapping around Nico’s where they remained on his chest, dragging them up and pressing kisses to his knuckles. 

“Yeah,” Nico breathed. “I guess so.”

Will released Nico’s hand, wrapping an arm around his bare back and pulling him into his chest. “I’m so glad I found you,” Will told him, kissing the top of Nico’s head. “I love you so much.”

Nico’s fingers tangled themselves in Will’s shirt, gripping tightly as Will held him close. Nico pushed himself back gently, widened eyes locked on where his hand still held Will’s shirt when he asked, “Can you take this off?”

Will looked at him with surprise clear in his features. “Yeah, uh, why?” he asked as he sat up, pulling the shirt off over his head.

Nico grabbed it out of his hand before Will could toss it away. “Because I feel exposed and I want to wear it,” he answered, slipping the shirt on before relaxing back into bed.

Will laid down with him, loosely slinging an arm around Nico’s waist. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

“Shut up and go to sleep,” Nico told him with a smile.

“It’s too bright in here,” Will replied. “How can I sleep when there’s such a pretty face to look at, right in front of me?”

Nico tried to hide his face away in the pillow. He drew an arm out from under the blankets, raising it in the air and flicking his wrist, extinguishing every candle in the room in one motion.

Will hummed. “Wow, after all this time, you finally show off some firebending, just for me.”

“Maybe tomorrow I can show off some more,” Nico offered, tucking his face against Will’s collarbone.

“I would love that.”

 

There was a section of the palace courtyard where Nico used to train with some of the newer guards, off in one of the far corners near the guards’ quarters. That was where Nico took Will the next morning, after they’d gotten dressed and eaten breakfast, so that Nico could finally show off his bending.

Will had placed a firm hand on Nico’s shoulder as they walked, so that they could appear not as fiances but as prince-turned-prisoner and whatever kind of healer-guard hybrid Will was supposed to be. 

They were stopped at the edge of the training grounds by a single guard. “Healer,” he started, gaze locked on Will aside for the single flickering glance at Nico. “What is the meaning of this?”

“The prince needs to build up his strength,” Will answer calmly off the top of his head. “I suggested that working on his firebending would be a good place to start. This is somewhere he can do that, correct?”

Nico kept his eyes focused on the ground, but he could feel a burning glare on his skin coming from the guard. 

“Of course,” the guard sneered. He grabbed Nico roughly by his other shoulder, yanking him out of Will’s grasp and leading him onto the training grounds. “Cause any serious injury to your opponent and you’ll receive ten times the pain,” he hissed in Nico’s ear before giving him one final shove. The guard called out a name, and one of the trainees jumped into the field.

Nico undid the clasp on his robe, dropping the fabric and tossing it to the side. Underneath he wore clothes similar to what he’d worn on Ogygia, pants and long sleeves, his skin still almost completely covered, but his clothing offering plenty of movement.

He squared off, and the trainee across from him did the same.

The training grounds were soon filled with blasts of fire, some very close shots, some that seemed completely aimless. Nico struggled to keep his fighting style like that of a firebender’s, though he could feel his limbs struggling against the influences of the air and waterbending training he’d received.

He slipped up just once, firing off an unexpected shot, and when he saw the trainee moving directly into the line of fire, Nico hurried to extinguish the flames.

Too late, apparently, because he watched as the trainee dropped to the ground, rolling onto his side and hiding the wound from Nico’s sight. 

Before Nico even had a second to think, he was tackled to the ground, a hand holding his head down into the dirt. 

“Hey, wait a second!” Nico shouted, struggling to turn his head away from the ground to have his words heard. “It was an accident, I didn’t even hit him!”

Just as he’d suspected, the guards wouldn’t listen to him. His hands were bound together behind his back, something like a knee digging into his back between his shoulderblades as he was held down.

Nico cracked an eye open, just barely able to see Will kneeling beside the injured trainee, telling something to a nearby guard and shaking his head. His hands were clearly visible away from the trainee, so he wasn’t trying to heal him. Nico could hear him shouting something, but he couldn’t quite make out the words before he was being hauled to his feet and dragged away from the training grounds.

“Stop!” Will called, chasing after them. “He didn’t do anything! There’s no injury, that guard is fine!”

But the guards dragging Nico away were no longer listening. 

 

Will had probably walked the equivalent of three laps around the entire outer palace grounds, one of the city officials carting him around to some of the sick and injured people in the city and insisting that he heal them. It wasn’t until the sun had set that evening that Will was finally free to do as he pleased, and that was only because he was practically dead on his feet. He’d thought that healing Nico the night before had drained his energy, but that was nothing compared to nearly thirty people with varying injuries, some of whom lived miles apart from each other. 

Will had nearly forgotten about that morning’s happenings, but once he was heading back into the palace, he felt a renewed energy flowing through his veins at the thought of Nico needing his help.

There was a single guard outside Nico’s door when Will arrived, and a bowl of water was sitting on the floor in front of the door.

“Leave,” Will told the guard, too tired and angry to try and be polite. He waited until the guard was out of his line of sight before opening the door and taking the bowl of water inside.

He found Nico on the floor at the foot of the bed, half curled up into a ball, his clothes practically burned off his body, and his breathing shallow, pained sounding.

Will set the bowl on the ground, dropping to his knees at Nico’s side.

“Hurts,” Nico croaked, his eyes the only thing that moved, rolling up to meet Will’s.

“I know, darling,” Will whispered to him, gently brushing the hair out of his face. “Can you tell me what’s worst?”

“Ribs,” he answered simply.

Will looked down, carefully moving Nico’s arm from where it was covering his chest, revealing a mottled bruise covering almost the entire right half of Nico’s chest. Will grazed his fingers along the bruise, causing Nico to gasp in pain.

“I’m sorry,” Will said quickly, drawing his hand away. “I think-- A few of your ribs might be broken. So this is going to hurt a lot more that usual, okay?”

Nico nodded, barely even a twitch of his chin, telling Will to start. 

The healer drew a good amount of water from the bowl, smoothing it out onto Nico’s skin and doing his best to ignore the soft cries of pain coming from Nico’s mouth.

Will was feeling light headed by the time Nico’s ribs were finally healed, but hearing his fiance breathe in deep made Will’s entire body flush with relief.

Nico pulled himself up until he was sitting, resting back against the footboard of his bed. 

“What else?” Will asked, wiping at the sweat building on his forehead.

Nico frowned, reaching up and resting his hand on Will’s cheek. “Will, I think you should stop.”

“No,” Will told him, leaning into Nico’s cool touch. “Why would I stop when you’re still injured?”

Nico’s had moved from Will’s cheek, sliding up to press against his forehead. “You’re burning up. I think maybe you should take a break, I’ll be okay.”

“I’m fine,” Will told him. “Please, let me--”

“Will,” Nico cut in firmly. “Stop, please. I’ve dealt with worse. I don’t want you to suffer more because of me.”

“I’m not  _ suffering--” _

“Please,” Nico said again. “Lay down, rest. If you’re feeling better in the morning, you can heal me then. But  _ please, _ you have to take care of yourself, too. Okay?”

Will closed his eyes, letting out a breath. “Yeah, alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey,,,,, does this make up for the last chapter?????  
> thanks for reading!!!


	16. Part Three: Fire; Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dang i gotta like set myself an alarm for when i need to post things i almost completely forgot about this 
> 
> anyway i remembered very late so enjoy

Nico woke up to the sight of Will’s sleeping face, inches from his own. He reached up, brushing his fingers across Will’s check until Will’s eyelashes started to flutter and his eyes slipped open.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Nico whispered as Will pressed closer to Nico’s hand. “How are you feeling?”

“I should be asking you that question,” Will responded, turning his head and kissing the inside of Nico’s wrist. Will slid a hand across the sheets, resting on the bare skin of Nico’s stomach. “What still hurts? I can get some water and we can try again.”

“Don’t go anywhere,” Nico told him. “I’m fine.”

Will pouted. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Sometimes, if the air is humid enough, I can pull the moisture out--”

“I’m  _ fine,” _ Nico insisted. 

“Then what can I do for you?” Will tried again. “There’s gotta be something.”

Nico hummed, gaze dropping to follow his fingers as they began to trail down Will’s chest. “I can think of a few things,” he answered, eyes flicking back up with a noticeable spark in his gaze.

“Oh, really?” Will smirked, shifting closer. He lifted himself up, resting his weight on top of his fiance and feeling as Nico’s thighs tightened around his hips. “Something like this?” Will asked, lips brushing against Nico’s as he spoke.

Nico’s hands slipped up around Will’s shoulders, holding Will close to him. “Something like it, yeah.” He pulled Will down to connect their lips fully, one hand moving up to thread into Will’s hair, the other keeping him close as Nico deepened the kiss.

One of Will’s hands had traced down Nico’s chest, down his stomach, gripping one of Nico’s thighs and hiking it over Will’s hip, massaging his thumb into Nico’s leg.

The door slammed open across the room. Will jumped away from Nico, so startled that he fell off the edge of the bed, hidden from the intruder by the bed frame.

Nico sat up, panting, and watched as Reyna pulled a sheet of metal across the doorway, closing them in.

Reyna crossed the room, reaching the bed in a few steps and ripping one of the pillows off the bed - the one Will had been sleeping on just minutes earlier. Reyna used the pillow to hit Nico in the face.

“What is the matter with you?” Reyna demanded, hitting Nico again and again. “Do you  _ want _ them to kill you? You  _ know _ that kind of relationship is against the law! You’re lucky it was me that came in here, and not one of  _ them. _ What kind of idiot are you, Neeks?”

“Stop it!” Nico shouted, grabbing the pillow and ripping it out of Reyna’s grip. “I wasn’t thinking, okay?”

“No, you weren’t,” Reyna agreed. “You better not let anyone else catch you like this, or you’ll most likely be killed, and  _ he--” _ she pointed angrily in Will’s direction, “--will be thrown in jail.”

“I get it, Reyna,” Nico spit at her. “It’s not gonna happen again.”

Reyna came closer once more until she was kneeling on the bed, wrapping her arms around Nico’s shoulders and pulling him into a hug. “It better not, because I  _ don’t _ want to have to kill you.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “What, like I  _ want  _ to die?”

Reyna gave him a  _ Look, _ and Nico shut his mouth.

Will sat up off the ground, peaking over the edge of the bed as if checking if it was safe. He stood, after deeming that it wasn't about to be burned to death, and held a hand out to Reyna. “Uh, hi. I don't think we've met yet. I’m Will.”

Reyna looked at his hand, as if touching it might give her some kind of disease, before glaring up at Will. When she spoke, it was directed at Nico. “You’re cheating on your fiance with the healer? Is waterbender your  _ type _ or something?”

“No!” Nico said quickly. “I’m not cheating, I don’t have a _ type, _ he’s-- Will  _ is _ my fiance.”

Reyna stared at Nico for a few moments before glancing back to Will. “You came _ here _ for  _ him. _ Do you know how incredibly  _ stupid _ that is?” She reached over, holding out a hand to Will. “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Reyna.”

Will shook her hand quickly before pulling back and scratching at his arm awkwardly. “So, I don’t mean to seem rude, but, um--”

“You want to know if you can trust me,” Reyna interrupted coolly, and Will nodded in response. “Let me ask you this: have I done anything to you that would make me seem untrustworthy?” 

Will’s lips curved down into a slight frown. “I mean, we just met, how would I know?”

Nico reached toward him, linking his fingers with Will’s. “I trust her, Will, so can you.” Nico tugged on Will’s hand, pulling him to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’ve known Reyna for as long as she’s been in the Fire Nation, which is longer than I’ve known Hazel. She’s the only friend I have here.” Will made a face, and Nico shoved at his arm. “You don’t count. She’s my friend, you’re my  _ fiance.  _ It’s different.”

“I would hope it’s different,” Will replied, leaning closer until he and Nico were nearly nose-to-nose.

“Do you want me to leave?” Reyna asked. 

Nico wrapped an arm around Will’s shoulders, holding him close, and glanced at Reyna out of the corner of his eye. “Well, you already interrupted us once today,” he reminded her. Will began pressing smiling kissing down the column of Nico’s neck.

Reyna rolled her eyes, sliding off the edge of the bed. “You’re disgusting, both of you,” she called over her shoulder as she walked across the room to the door. 

“Hey, Reyna?” Nico started. “Do me a favor? Don’t let anyone in here for a while.”

“Disgusting,” Reyna repeated. “I’ll do what I can.”

As soon as Reyna shut the door behind herself, Will pressed Nico down into the bed.

“Do you think we’re safe?” Will whispered into Nico’s ear, moving to kiss along Nico’s jaw.

Nico wound his fingers into the hair on the back of Will’s head, pulling him close until Nico’s lips brushed against Will’s when he said, “Only if we hurry.”

Will grinned, swooping down for a deep kiss, tongue sweeping across the seam of Nico’s lips as his hands moved to Nico’s stomach. He shoved at the shirt covering Nico’s skin, pushing it up toward Nico’s armpits, and dove down to kiss and lick and bite at the newly exposed skin. He moved even further downward, biting a line of marks along the waistband of Nico’s shorts.

Nico’s hand tightened in Will’s hair. “Will, hurry up!  _ Please!” _

Will’s hands found Nico’s hips, pinning them against the mattress. “Patience, Darling,” he said softly as he slowly -  _ so slowly _ \- began pulling down the waist of Nico’s shorts.

Nico almost didn’t hear the door opening over the sound of a high pitched whine escaping his throat. “Haven’t you ever heard of  _ knocking?” _ he growled, head rolling to the side and eyes locking with someone who most certainly was  _ not _ Reyna.

Nico scrambled up, shoving Will away and tugging his shorts back up. Will sat, frozen, near the foot of the bed, eyes widened in fear and eyes locked on the guard quickly approaching him. Nico jumped off the bed, moving to stand in the guard’s path. “Wait, stop!” he cried, but the guard pushed him aside, so forcefully that Nico was knocked off his feet, head bouncing painfully off the floor.

Nico’s vision blurred slightly around the edges, though his eyes were clear enough to see the guard grab Will by the hair, dragging him off the bed and towards the door. Nico tried to move, tried reaching out to stop the guard, tried shouting to Will, but he couldn’t get his body to move. Nico felt like his lungs were constricting in his chest, and it suddenly seemed like he couldn’t get enough air. He gulped down huge, heaving breaths, feeling the panic rapidly increasing inside him, until his vision blacked out.

 

Nico woke up on the floor in his room. He didn’t remember what had happened that left him with a pounding ache in his head and sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. His memory flashed back to the last birthday that Bianca spent in the Fire Nation, when she’d continuously handed him drink after drink to see what it would do to him. Nico didn’t remember much of the party, but he  _ did _ remember that the next morning brought a very similar feel to what he was experiencing now.

Groggily, Nico pushed himself into a sitting position, scooting himself back to lean against the wall. His eyes scanned the room, trying to remember what had happened the night before that left him asleep on the floor when his bed was only a few feet away. He felt a sort of emptiness in his chest that he didn’t know how to describe, though it was accompanied by a feeling that something was missing.

The door opened, and if Nico weren’t so exhausted he might’ve jumped in surprise. “Prince Nico?” an unfamiliar female voice called into the room, and Nico was immediately on guard. Hardly anyone had spoken to him in the past few days, let alone called him  _ prince. _ “Your Highness, why are you on the floor?” 

The girl, a servant if Nico had to guess, came toward him, and Nico pressed himself back against the wall. 

“Prince Nico, you must get dressed,” the servant girl told him. “You are wanted downstairs in ten minutes!”

“Wanted for what?” Nico asked as he was pulled to his feet by the servant.

“It is not my place to say,” the servant told him, hurrying toward Nico’s closet and pulling out one of Nico’s fancier sets of robes. “Please, Your Highness, get dressed.”

The servant girl dropped Nico’s clothes in his arms before heading back toward the door, closing it behind herself as she left.

Nico frowned down at the robes he held in his arms, moving to set them on the foot of his bed so that he could get undressed. He pulled off his shirt, tossing it away on the bed before something about it caught his attention. That shirt he was wearing wasn’t his, it wasn’t even Fire Nation fabric. It was Water Tribe, it was--

Nico dropped the heavy material of one of the robes onto the ground at his feet. How could he forget  _ Will? _ What had happened beforehand that made Will disappear? What  _ happened? _ And more importantly,  _ what had they done to Will? _

Nico bolted across the room, hands slamming against the door, stopping himself from stepping out into the hallway. If he left the room in nothing but his shorts, he would surely be beaten again, or perhaps just humiliated in front of the entire kingdom.

The entire kingdom--

Nico backed away from the door, turning back and eyeing his clothes - his  _ ceremony robes.  _ Reyna had told him that he would be killed if his and Will’s relationship was discovered. That servant refused to tell him where he would be going.

Nico was going to be executed in front of the entire kingdom.

He felt like his legs might give out from under him. He wanted to find something sharp and finish himself off before his father got the satisfaction of killing him himself.

But where did that leave Will?  
  
Where _was_ Will?

Nico couldn’t die without first knowing that Will was alive.

He put on the robes. He tied his hair out of his face. He left his betrothal necklace around his neck, his one last act of defiance.

 

Nico was escorted toward the front steps of the palace by one of the guards he remembered having beaten him within the last week. 

“Where is Reyna?” Nico asked quietly, trying to keep any emotion of out his voice. 

“No longer a member of the guard, Your Highness,” the guard answered, and Nico was surprised to have not heard any trace of sarcasm when he said  _ your highness. _

“And the healer?” Nico continued. “Where is he?”

“Imprisoned, Your Highness,” said the guard. “He will be exiled from the Nation at the end of the ceremony.”

Exiled. Nico let out a breath. Will was going to be okay, he would leave the Fire Nation and return to Ogygia. He would be able to continue travelling the world as he pleased. He would be alive to see Hazel’s wedding, possibly even marry himself. Will could marry a woman, even have children of his own. Will would be a great father, Nico thought. It would be better this way. Will would be happy, and he could forget about Nico. Everyone could. There would be a new Avatar in the cycle, one that would do much more good than Nico ever did.

Nico stopped at the front doors of the palace, the guard stepping forward and opening it for him. The bright light of the sunlit steps aggravated Nico’s still-pounding head, and he lowered his eyes to lessen the pain.

He was marched forward to the edge of the steps, and the crowd gathered before him silenced almost immediately. He was forced down onto his knees in front of the entire kingdom, and Nico hung his head. He wondered how long it would be before he felt the sharp edge of a sword connect with his neck.

“A great change will come to the kingdom on this day,” a voice boomed behind Nico - not his father’s, like Nico had expected. “Last night, the Fire Lord passed peacefully in his sleep. Such a sudden event does not allow the time to retrieve Princess Bianca from the island of Kyoshi. However, the Fire Lord is succeeded by his youngest child, Prince Nico.”

Nico’s heart stopped. He... _ wasn’t _ going to die? But his father  _ had? _ Nico only had a second for his extreme shock to turn to defensiveness when he thought,  _ what about Hazel? _ before something was tugging at his hair, and the person behind him called out, “All hail Fire Lord Nico!”

Nico thought he might throw up, but he rose shakily to his feet anyway, watching as his entire kingdom dropped to their knees before him. Nico took a deep breath, swallowing down the terror lodged in his throat before he said, “Thank you. I--” He felt his vision starting to swim; he needed to get  _ out of there. _ “I hope to be a better ruler than my father.”

He took a few steps backwards, trying to hold on to his dignity before he spun around and ran back into the palace. He shed a few of the robes in the entryway until he was wearing his everyday formal clothes that he’d had on underneath. He pulled the crown of the Fire Lord out of his hair, tossing it on the ground with his clothes and letting his hair fall loose around his face.

He was going to  _ live, _ and Will was still inside the Nation somewhere. Nico had to find him.

 

Nico didn’t think he could’ve missed Will’s tiny, poor excuse for a boat, until he saw it docked at the nearest port to the palace. It probably helped Nico to miss the boat because of the fact that Will was standing nearby, loading supplies into the storage compartments. 

Nico stood on the edge of the dock, watching as Will loaded the last bag onto the boat, then reached for the ropes tying the boat to the dock. “Will,” Nico said, voice blowing away in the wind. “Will!” he tried again, louder, running down the dock when his fiance glanced up. Will stood up and opened his arms just in time for Nico to collide with his chest, arms locking around Will’s ribcage as Nico buried his face in Will’s collarbone. “I thought I was gonna die,” Nico sobbed into Will’s shirt - plain and white with sleeves and nothing like Nico had ever seen him wear before. “I thought they were gonna kill me, and I thought they were gonna kill  _ you.” _

“I’m fine, Darling,” Will whispered, pressing his nose into Nico’s hair. “I’m alive, but-- Darling, I have to leave. They’re making me leave, and if they see you with me--”

“They won’t do anything,” Nico told him, pulling himself back and fisting his hands in the front of Will’s shirt. “They won’t-- They  _ can’t _ do anything. M-my father is  _ dead, _ Will, they made me  _ Fire Lord. _ They can’t do  _ anything _ to me anymore.”

“F-Fire Lord?” Will stuttered, reaching up and holding Nico’s face in his hands. He searched Nico’s eyes, as if trying to find a lie or a hint of fear. 

“You don’t have to leave,” Nico told him. “You can stay here with me, and we can be together. Will, we could get  _ married _ now. I can learn  _ earthbending _ without worrying about somebody trying to kill me for being the Avatar. We could be  _ happy _ here,  _ together. _ You can  _ stay,” _ Nico repeated, meeting Will’s eyes and finding... _ something _ there. “Unless...you don’t want to?”

Will tipped his head down, knocking his forehead against Nico’s. “I want to. I want to  _ marry you, _ Nico, you know I do. I love you and I want to be with you, but I don’t think I can do that...here.”

Nico frowned, heart sinking for only a moment before his eyes lit up. “Then we can leave.  _ Both  _ of us, we can  _ leave.” _

“Nico, you can’t,” Will told him. “You can’t just abandon an entire kingdom!”

“I won’t,” Nico said. “I’ll find someone else to be Fire Lord. I’m in charge for now, I make the rules around here. I can  _ change _ the rules. Just promise you’ll stay with me until then, okay?”

Will pressed his lips to Nico’s. “I’ll stay, I promise. Wanna help me carry my things back into the palace?”

Nico wrapped his arms around Will’s neck, rising up on his toes. “Thank you, Sunshine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how about that excessive use of italics at the end lol
> 
> thanks for reading!!!
> 
> also haha hey guess what only one chapter left after this rip


	17. Part Three: Fire; Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS NOBODY REMINDED ME TO POST THIS I ALMOST FORGOT AGAIN
> 
> anyway,,,,, enjoy the last chapter friends i hope it was worth the extra week wait that there was no reason having i feel like that didnt make sense but its very late give me a break ok and read the chapter its the last one

Nico called a meeting of all of his father’s closest advisors, insisting that Will come with him. Instinctually, Nico moved to take the prince’s seat, but Will nudged him in the right direction, and Nico took his seat at the throne. Will, unsure of where to sit amongst the crowd of old men that had apparently helped run the nation, stood uncomfortably at Nico’s side.

“Thank you all for being here,” Nico called out to the room. “There are a few changes I would like to make to the nation’s existing rules.”

“Your first day as Fire Lord,” one of the men started, “and already, you plan to change the laws your father set for this nation?”

Nico crossed his ankle over the opposite knee, resting his chin in his hand. Two minutes into the meeting and he was already bored of it - some things never change, he supposed.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I plan to do,” Nico responded coolly. “If I may continue? First, the right to become Fire Lord will no longer be restricted by gender. My father had two daughters, both of whom are just as able to lead this nation as I am.”

One man scoffed. “Illegitimate blood is _not_ fit to rule.”

“And you are not fit to advise those who rule,” Nico shot back immediately. “Goodbye.”

 _“Excuse me?”_ the man exclaimed, rising from his seat.

“Those who insult my family are no longer welcome in the throne room,” Nico said. He waited until the man huffed in anger and left the room, slamming the door behind himself. “While we’re on the subject of family, I will also be making a change to the nation’s marriage laws. Any person has the right to marry whoever they please, regardless of gender.”

“What kind of _revolting--”_

“Watch your mouth, Charon,” Nico interrupted. “You may risk insulting my fiance, which would be unforgivable.”

Charon’s mouth snapped shut.

“Now, if anyone has any comments, I’d be glad to hear them,” Nico offered, and when the room remained silent, he continued, “and if any of you disagree with these changes, please, feel free to remove yourself from your position on this board.” Nico hid a smile behind his hand as he watched about half of the advisors - including Charon - rise from their seats and walk out of the throne room. “Now that they’re gone, I have one last order: Reyna Avila Ramírez Arellano will be welcomed back as a member of the guard.”

Nico rose from the throne. “Meeting adjourned.” He stepped to the side, taking a blushing Will’s hand in his own. He was about to pull Will towards the door when he remembered one last thing. “Also - last thing - my fiance and I will be taking a trip to Kyoshi Island, we leave tomorrow. Goodbye!”

Nico pulled Will out of the room, leading him down hallways and up staircases until they were finally back inside Nico’s room.

“That was…” Nico started, closing the door behind himself, “a lot more fun than I was expecting.”

“You know what else it was?” Will asked, resting his hands against the door on either side of Nico’s head.

Nico took a hold of the front of Will’s shirt, pulling him closer. “No, what?”

Will tipped his head down until they were nose-to-nose. _“Very_ attractive.”

 

In the morning, Will and Nico boarded Will’s tiny boat, and they set out to sea. The trip to Kyoshi took all day and all night - it probably would’ve been a few hours less if the two of them hadn’t fallen asleep in the middle of the night - and they had never been happier to see land.

As soon as the boat was tied up at the dock, Nico and Will made their way toward the town. Someone must’ve seen them ahead of time, because as soon as Nico and Will made it to the middle of the town, a group of Kyoshi Warriors had already left their barracks and made their way toward them.

One warrior pushed her way to the front of the crowd, halting for a second before sprinting forward and lifting Nico off the ground.

Bianca set Nico down, holding him by the shoulders and seeming to scan him for injuries. “What happened, are you injured?” Nico shook his head, and Bianca tugged at one of his arms. “Come with me, tell me everything.” She started to lead Nico away, but when Will followed, she pointed an angry finger at him and told him to stay put.

“No, Bia, he comes too,” Nico said. “We’re engaged. Where I go, he goes.”

Bianca’s eyes widened at Nico’s words, but her expression returned to neutral soon enough. She pulled Nico toward the barracks, Will following close behind. Nico and Will took a seat on the edge of one of the beds while Bianca stood in front of them with her arms crossed. “Tell me everything,” she insisted.

Nico glanced down at his hands resting in his lap. “I don’t really know where to start.”

“Maybe start with how you got engaged to this _boy,”_ Bianca spat, and Will shrunk away.

“We got engaged because I _love him,_ Bianca,” Nico told her angrily. “That’s not even why we’re here!”

“Why are you here, then?” Bianca asked. _“How_ are you here? Hazel told me you’d been imprisoned back home!”

“Father is dead,” Nico said calmly. “I was crowned Fire Lord yesterday morning.”

 _“You_ are Fire Lord?” Bianca repeated. “And Father is dead? How? What happened?”

“I was never told,” Nico answered. “And yes, I am, for the time being. However, I had a couple of the laws changed. One,” he started, taking Will’s hand in his, “being that Will and I are allowed to get married. The other is that you, as the previous Fire Lord’s eldest child, have the right to the throne, should you want it.”

Bianca stared into her brother’s eyes. “No.”

Nico’s heart sank. “No?”

“No,” Bianca repeated. “I will be staying here to continue my training.”

Nico frowned. “But--”

“I said _no,_ Nico,” Bianca snapped. “Becoming Fire Lord was _never_ my responsibility. You have been in training to become Fire Lord since you were _born._ _You_ were allowed to sit in during Father’s private meetings with the board of advisors, not me. This is _your_ responsibility, and you can’t push that away onto another person.”

Nico’s grip on Will’s hand tightened until his knuckles were white. He took a breath and narrowed his eyes up at his sister. “Fine. We’ll be leaving, then.” He stood up, pulling Will to his feet as well. “Let’s go, Will.”

“Wait, hang on--” Will tried, knowing that Nico would just be more upset if he left on bad terms with his sister.

“Perhaps I can make a visit to the Fire Nation,” Bianca offered.

“Oh, please,” Nico started, “take your time. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on your training.” He pulled Will toward the door, stopping only for a moment. Without even glancing back at his sister, Nico said, “Don’t bother coming to our wedding, either, since you’re so busy.”

 

Nico didn’t speak on their way back to the boat. He was silent as he dropped onto his seat in the boat, knees drawn up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, and kept his eyes locked on the floor of the boat until they were so far out on the water that Kyoshi was out of sight.

Will, who had been standing at the back of the boat, propelling the craft over the waves by bending the water around them, lowered himself to sit in front of his fiance. Will mirrored the way that Nico was sitting, tilting his head down until he could meet Nico’s eyes.

“Are you okay, Darling?” Will asked softly, and Nico dropped his gaze again.

Nico pushed himself forward until he could lean against Will’s chest, and Will’s arms automatically closed around him, keeping him close. “I probably shouldn’t have said those things to her.”

Will hummed. “Probably not.” He rubbed a hand up and down Nico’s arm.

“Do you think we should go back?” Nico asked. “Maybe I should try talking to Bianca again. Tell her she’s allowed to come to the wedding whenever it is, or something.”

Will sighed. “This...isn’t going to be something you’ll want to hear, but... Given the way Bianca has acted around me every time I’ve interacted with her, I don’t really think she would want to be at the wedding anyway.”

Nico tensed, and Will was afraid he’d said the wrong thing, that maybe he should’ve kept his thoughts to himself. “She’s traditional,” Nico mumbled into Will’s shirt. “Even with the laws changed, she’ll always think that Fire Lord is a man’s job, and that marriage should be between a man and a woman. You’re right, she wouldn’t want to be there.”

Will tightened his hold on Nico. “You know what’ll be so much better?” Nico hummed. “Having Hazel there. And Frank, and Piper, and Jason, and everyone else. Actually, what do you say we head toward Ogygia now? We can spend a few days there before we go back to sort things out in the Fire Nation.”

Nico nodded slowly. “Yes, please.”

 

They drifted to shore in the middle of the night. There wasn’t anyone around as far as either of them could tell, so they pulled the boat onto the beach, unloaded a few of their things, and made their way nearly silently back to Will’s shack at the edge of the campsite. Once inside, Nico finally stripped out of the layers of Fire Nation clothes he’d been wearing, then took the shirt that Will had just shed and pulling it on over his head. They laid down on the ground, Nico curling into Will’s chest, and mumbled, “I’ve missed it here,” before falling asleep.

In the morning, Will woke up to Nico pressing kisses down his chest, moving up to latch his lips to Will’s neck, and finally, when Nico realized that Will was awake, locking their lips together. Nico threw a leg over Will’s stomach, straddling his hips and running his hands down Will’s chest. “There’s no one here to interrupt us, this time,” Nico whispered against Will’s lips.

Will smirked, slipping a hand up the back of Nico’s shirt and running his nails across Nico’s skin. “And what do you plan to do with all this uninterrupted time we have?”

Nico snuck a finger under the edge of the waistband on Will’s pants, snapping the fabric against his skin. “I think you might have an idea.”

“I really hope we have the same idea,” Will breathed, tangling his free hand in Nico’s hair and pulling him in for another kiss. His other hand fell free from Nico’s shirt, moving down to grab his butt as Nico’s hands fumbled with the waist of Will’s pants.

The curtain in the doorway was pushed open, and Piper poked her head inside, calling out, “Will, are you in here? We saw your boat, and--”

Will sat up, holding Nico at an arm’s length away, wide eyes locking with Piper’s. His gaze flickered back to Nico for half a second before he said, “This, uh, isn’t what it looks like?”

Nico, back still facing Piper, buried his face in his hands, hoping to cover the burning red color of his skin.

“It _looks like_ you messed up, big time!” Piper said angrily. “What are you doing? _Cheating?_ You couldn’t get Nico out of the Fire Nation, so you snuck some _other_ guy in here in the middle of the night? Is that why you didn’t wake anyone up when you got here?”

“No!” Will shouted. “What? No!”

Nico jumped off of Will’s lap, standing before Piper with his hands out in front of him. “Piper, it’s me! He’s not cheating!”

“Why do people keep assuming we’re cheating?” Will asked, but no one was listening to him.

“Nico?” Piper breathed. She lunged forward and wrapped Nico up in a hug. “I can’t believe it, you’re alive! We all thought they would kill you, but you’re _here!”_

“Um, yeah,” Nico responded, awkwardly patting Piper on the back. “I’m here.”

Piper pulled away, keeping her hands resting on Nico’s shoulders. “Come on, you guys missed breakfast, but you have to come see everyone. They’ve all missed you like crazy!”

She dragged Nico out of the shack, and Will scrambled to get to his feet to follow them out. He ran to catch up, snatching Nico’s hand just before they reached the ring of people around the fire.

There was a good amount of hugging, a lot of shouting to be heard over each other, and a few shed tears from Hazel. Annabeth and Calypso gathered some of the leftover food from breakfast for Will and Nico as the latter two were forced to sit and share every detail of their journey.

Nico told them _almost_ everything. How he’d been abused after even the slightest rule break, though he spared everyone the gruesome details. He talked about Reyna, about Will arriving, about his father dying. He explained how he’d been crowned Fire Lord and immediately changed the laws of the nation.

“I hope,” Nico said, “now that my father is dead, the perceptions of the Fire Nation will change. I-- Now that I’m Fire Lord, I have to return there. I wish I could stay here, with all of you, but I can’t. I would appreciate visits from all of you, though. If any of you tire of sleeping on the ground in tents, I’ll keep the guest rooms at the palace open for you.”

“You should know,” Leo started, “we will absolutely take you up on that.”

Nico and Will ate as the others chatted and caught them up with the events that happened on Ogygia while they were away. A short while after Nico finished his breakfast, Hazel pulled him away to her earthen tent and insisted that he tell her everything that he’d kept to himself when sharing with the others. Still, Nico didn’t share everything. Hazel didn’t need to hear that he’d tried to kill himself, or that the guards had almost killed him themselves. He did, however, tell her of the laws that he changed - that he and Will would have their marriage recognized by the nation whenever it happened, and that the Fire Nation could be ruled by a woman.

“You don’t have anything to worry about by coming back,” Nico told her. “You’re my _sister,_ and that’s how they’re going to treat you from now on. And-- You could take over. You could be Fire Lord, and then they would _have_ to treat you with respect.”

Hazel laughed. “Nico, being Fire Lord is _your_ destiny. It’s up to you to remake the nation, that’s _your_ responsibility.” Nico hung his head. “You know how the spirits choose the next Avatar because they know the things in the world that need to change? They chose _you_ because they knew you would be the best person to make that change. Turns out, you just didn’t need to be the Avatar to do it.” Nico nodded, but kept his head down. “You’re going to be the best Fire Lord there’s even been, Nico.”

“Thank you, Hazel,” he whispered, and pulled his sister into a hug.

When they returned to the fire, Will was nowhere to be found. Jason pointed Nico in the direction of the beach, saying that Will had left in that direction. Nico hurried toward the beach, finding Will standing on the shore, arms crossed over his chest, waves washing up to his ankles.

Nico walked up behind him, winding his arms around Will’s waist and pressing his face between his shoulder blades.

“Everything alright, Darling?” Will asked, covering one of Nico’s hands with his and lacing their fingers together.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Nico told him softly. “I don’t know what I’m doing, what am I supposed to do?”

Will turned around and cupped Nico’s cheeks in his hands. “Of course you can do this, Nico. You can do _anything_ you want now, and no one can tell you otherwise. You’re not really _supposed_ to do anything, it’s what you think you _should_ do.”

“I _can’t_ think, it’s too much!” Nico told him. “I can’t lead an entire country, Will!”

“You _can,”_ Will insisted. “I saw the way you handled that meeting before we left. It was exactly the way you should’ve acted. There’s no reason to worry so much. And if you keep freaking out, I’ll be there with you, all the time.”

 

* * *

 

Epilogue

 

* * *

 

They gathered in the clearing on Ogygia. Somehow, Will had gotten a hold of some formal Water Tribe clothing - tight, long sleeves and baggy pants with some kind of animal skin tied around his waist - and everyone else had managed to find their own dress clothes, all at varying levels of formal. Nico’s outfit, though incredibly casual on Fire Nation standards, seemed to fit in perfectly with the mismatched group around him.

Jason, who Nico had found out a few days earlier had been some kind of priest to the Air Nomads, was dressed in long white robes, which seemed like they may very well have been bedsheets.

He stood beside Will and Nico, everyone else gathered in a small crowd a few feet away as Jason spoke.

“This is the first marriage I’ve ever officiated,” Jason started, “so I’m only going to go with what I know. William Solace, do you take Nico di Angelo to be your husband?”

“I do,” Will said, squeezing Nico’s hands and smiling brightly down at him.

“Nico di Angelo,” Jason continued, “do you take William Solace to be your husband?”

“I do,” Nico answered, mirroring Will’s shining smile.

“Then by the power granted to me by the Southern Air Nomads, I pronounce you husbands,” Jason announced. “You may--”

A horn sounded behind him in the water, and Jason turned to see a boat approaching the island.

“We have...visitors?” Percy said, looking like he was preparing for an attack.

“Are we sending them a warm welcome?” Leo asked, igniting a ball of fire in his hand.

“Wait,” Nico called, and waited until everyone’s attention was back on him and Will. Nico turned back to his husband, cupped his cheeks in his hands, and pulled him into a kiss. “There. Now it’s official. And now we can go see who that is.”

They all ran toward the beach, Jason shedding his bedsheet robes so that he wouldn’t trip before joining them. The boat, one of the smallest of the Fire Nation’s fleet, came to shore just as Nico and Will reached the beach.

Reyna made herself visible over the side of the ship and jumped over the edge onto the beach. “Nico, I received your message,” she told him, stepping toward him.

“Message?” Will repeated.

“Who are you?” Frank asked.

“Reyna!” Hazel called, and ran across the beach. She wrapped Reyna up in a hug. “It’s so good to see you again! What are you doing here? How did you find us?”

“It’s good to see you, too, Hazel,” Reyna responded with a smile. “I was on my way to Kyoshi, but I must’ve gotten off track somehow and ended up here. I have a message for the Fire Lord.”

Nico scrunched up his nose. “Please, don’t call me that. What’s the message?”

“In response to your request that a new Fire Lord be found--”

“Your what?” Will asked, but Nico simply squeezed his hand in response.

“--the board of your advisors has found a distant cousin of yours that may be willing to take over the throne, should you step down.”

“You’re stepping down?” Hazel asked. “But what about--”

“Nico, we talked about this--” Will tried.

“Reyna,” Nico said, loud enough to be heard over the others. “Keep in contact with them, in case of an emergency, but...I don’t need them, not now. I can do this. I’ll return to the Fire Nation soon, as Fire Lord.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> biancas characterization in this chapter is,,,,, bad,,,,,,, so sorry about that,,,,,,, idk what happened
> 
> anyway yeah thats the end,,,, kinda anticlimactic but also,,, theyre happy??? that's all that matters???  
> jokes on me i cant end a long story without them getting married at the end thats my guaranteed resolution i guess oh well
> 
> anyway thanks for reading and thanks for sticking around so long!!

**Author's Note:**

> i hope this was a good enough start to get you hooked!!! thanks for reading!!!


End file.
